I Prefer Coffee
by bare-footed-muse
Summary: Disney makes sequels look easy. Bridging the gap between Frozen and Frozen Fever, there's eleven months and years of lost time to muddle through. Unofficial follow-up to How Do You Take Your Tea.
1. Test Driving

**Disney makes sequels look easy.**

Unofficial* follow-up to How Do You Take Your Tea. Bridging the gap between Frozen and Frozen Fever, there's eleven months and years of lost time to muddle through.

So I had so much fun writing Tea, and received so much positive feedback from this amazing community that I thought I'd just carry on.

In the same way that Tea bridged the gap between the Great Thaw and the end of the film, this fic is aiming to fit between the end of the film and Frozen Fever - which apparently, is just under a year. As such, this fic will probably be longer and a bit slower paced than the last. There'll probably be more of a gap between updates.

I'm really excited to get going with this piece - I hope you like it.

As ever, all and any feedback is appreciated.

BFM x

(*By unofficial, I mean that it does work as a stand alone piece, but there are a fair few references back to Tea, and it picks up right where Tea left off.)

* * *

Anna was distraught – and making very little effort to hide it now that Kristoff was gone.

"Elsaaaa," she was stretched out on the sofa in the corner of the room like some tragic maiden, an arm draped across her face and feet dangling over the edge of the sofa. "Elsa, _please_ give me something to do."

Elsa shook her head for what felt like the hundredth time. "How you ever managed to survive thirteen years on your own is beyond me, Anna. He'll be back soon."

"A _week_! When I gave him the sled, I didn't think he'd take it for a 'test drive' – " her fingers sketched quotation marks – "the same day! What about dinner? What about afternoon tea?"

"Anna," Elsa put down her quill and prayed for patience. "As much as I would love to take you out and skate all afternoon – " Elsa glanced at the pile of paper beside her. "Do you not have a book or something to read?"

Anna sighed theatrically. "No, I finished _Frankenstein_ last night. The sky was awake. I couldn't sleep."

"The library is enormous."

"I don't feel like reading," she sighed, and gazed out the window at the deep orange of the evening sky, looking for all the world like some romantic heroine.

This did not impress Elsa.

"Olaf." Elsa turned to the little snowman who had been sitting expectantly at the side of her desk, humming. "Can you take Anna and find her some kind of entertainment before I banish her from the kingdom?"

Anna sat up in mock-horror. "You would not."

"I would. I am this close to sending you off after your mountain man."

Anna huffed.

"Everything's been so _fast_ the past few days. And when it hasn't, Kristoff's been here. I don't know what to do with myself," Anna frowned, and fell back onto the sofa. "What _did_ I used to do?"

Elsa shook her head. "You are impossible."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can help with?"

Elsa was on the brink of replying with a weary _no, Anna, it's fine_ – when something made her falter.

" – no."

Olaf looked up. "You hesitated."

Elsa glared at him. She ran the short, cut feathers of her quill between her fingers.

Anna sat up eagerly. "What?"

"I'm just sorting through the last couple of compensation documents. For damage to livelihood. I haven't even started on the claims for structural damage yet." She sighed.

Anna nodded. "Ok."

"It's mostly done. There's just a few left which are… trickier." She twisted the quill between her fingers, hardly noticing the ink staining her right hand. Olaf hopped up onto the desk and (rather grotesquely, Anna thought) scooped a bit of his snow in lieu of a licked finger and began scrubbing the ink from Elsa's hand.

"Thank you, Olaf," the queen said absent-mindedly. "Did I tell you much about the grievances, Anna?"

Anna shook her head. "Not really."

Elsa hesitated. "A few people approached me about the death of loved ones."

Anna's jaw dropped open. _"What?"_

Elsa groaned and dropped her face into her hands. "Don't. It's bad enough already."

Anna reeled back her shock, instantly feeling guilty. "I'm sorry – it's just – I hadn't thought about that, really. Oh my God. Are you sure it was –?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes. I mean, those who came to me spoke of the death of older relatives, mainly – a few younger ones who were already suffering with consumption – but winter is always hardest on those most vulnerable. We know that."

Anna rose and walked to her sister. "God, Elsa – I'm so sorry. But it's not your fault."

Elsa shook off her sister's touch. "It is. Perhaps not directly, but I contributed to the death of those people. Anna," she looked up, eyes totally hopeless in a way Anna hated to see in her strong, capable and always-sharp sister. "I have offered to pay for the funerals of these people – and cover all other associated costs – but I don't feel it's enough."

Anna reached for her sister's hand again, willing her not to shy away. To her relief, she did not. "Elsa, I don't know how much more you can do. What's done is done. You didn't mean for this to happen. Though I wonder – " she was lost in thought for a moment. "Should we go to the funerals? To pay our respects?"

Elsa blanched.

"No no, we don't have to. I just thought – maybe – "

But Elsa silenced her with a nod of her head. "Maybe. Would it be appropriate? I wouldn't want to intrude. I mean, who wants the murderer at the victim's funeral?"

" _Elsa!_ " Anna's voice was sharp. "Don't you dare."

Elsa made no response, brooding. Anna pushed the papers out of the way and sat on the desk, leaning over to hug her sister.

"Oh – damn – "

The sound of glass on wood and Elsa's surprisingly colourful vocabulary told her she'd knocked over the inkwell.

Elsa shooed her from the room, frantically trying to save papers from the inky onslaught, telling Olaf to keep her out of further trouble.

"It's ok, Anna," chirped Olaf, reaching for her hand. "Elsa's just stressed. She thinks she spent too long on the ice rink this afternoon when she should have been working."

"That's silly," Anna sighed. "It's been a crazy few days. She's allowed a break."

Olaf waddled along and smiled sadly. "Elsa doesn't see it that way. Now come on," he tugged her little hand with his. "Let's go to the library. Will you read me a story? I can't read."

* * *

The wind pushed the hair back from Kristoff's forehead and ruffled the fur of his winter jerkin (which, it transpired, had been whisked away but some unseen maids at the castle and returned to his guest quarters perfectly clean the previous day), and there was no sound but the pounding of Sven's hooves and the hiss of sled runners on snow.

Kristoff let out an appreciative sigh. It _did_ corner like it was on rails.

He'd felt a pang of guilt at leaving Arendelle that afternoon – but he'd not sold a crate of ice in over two weeks now, and though he knew Anna would spare no courtesy in her hospitality, he wasn't comfortable not being able to make ends meet. He wouldn't use her as a charity.

 _"_ _But… we just got back. Do you have to go so soon?"_

She'd practically fallen into him at the side of Elsa's ice rink, giggling, and they'd sat watching the skaters glide and wobble their way round in equal measures for a moment before he'd mentioned heading back into the mountains.

 _"_ _I'll only be gone a few days. A week at the most. I've not sold any ice in ages – and I have to try out that new sled. And the tools."_

She'd looked crestfallen, but put on a surprisingly brave face.

 _"_ _You promise you'll come back?"_

 _"_ _I don't think anything could keep me away."_

But she'd stuck out her little finger with a determined resolution, and hadn't shared his smile when he'd wrapped his own around it.

 _"_ _Anna, of course I will. It's just… you know. Ice is my life."_

Admittedly, he didn't know how true that last part was now – his life had taken some very unexpected turns these past few days – but it was all he knew.

So he'd tacked up Sven and donned his hat and jerkin as Anna babbled on about how, when he got back, Elsa would have firmed up all the details about Official Ice Master duties. He safely stowed his gloves in the brand-new knapsack from _Claude's Climbing Supplies_ , along with all the new picks and saws he was dying to try out – and though he'd been careful not to let Anna see, the almost-finished little wooden reindeer and his whittling tools were also carefully packed in there.

Anna had fiddled with the end of her plaits and handed him a carefully wrapped pack of food and a huge cup of black tea for the journey. He'd given her a tentative kiss on the forehead and spurred Sven off, trying very hard not to look back.

He smiled down at the still-hot tea. It had a little lift-up lid on it and everything, like one of those foreign beer tankards, so as to keep in heat and not spill everywhere.

He slowed Sven to a trot and took a sip.

She'd be fine. Elsa was there, Hans was on a ship back to the Southern Isles, and Arendelle seemed to have returned to relative peace. She'd be fine.

Kristoff spurred Sven on again, anxious to reach the ice fields before dark.

* * *

Hans felt seasick.

Ordinarily, he had a strong stomach at sea.

But, ordinarily, he wasn't squatting in a damp brig that smelt strongly of fish.

Hans seethed mutinously. He hadn't even had a bath since he'd swum out of the fjord, and his once-white suit was stiff with salt and grey with grime. His hair hung in rough, salty ropes about his face and his neat sideburns had blurred with a week's worth of stubble.

It was safe to say Hans was not taking incarceration well. He was thankful that the journey to the Southern Isles was no more than three days.

The boat gave a great lurch and Hans closed his eyes, taking deep breath through his mouth, fighting down the rising nausea.

As he opened his eyes, he saw a sailor weave toward him, plate of bread in hand, dull eyes hardly meeting Hans' as he approached.

"How many leagues are we from Arendelle?"

No response.

"I asked you a question."

Still no answer as the sailor crouched to slide the plate through the brig's bars.

"How many leagues are we from Arendelle?"

The scrape of the plate on the wood, and the sailor briefly, bored, met Hans' gaze. He still made no response.

He straightened, but before the man could turn to go, Hans' arms shot through the bars, seizing the front of his shirt and dragging him forward, slamming him against the bars.

"I _said_ ," Hans snarled, face inches from the sailor's, "How many leagues are we from Arendelle?"

"A-around seventy leagues."

Hans dropped the man's shirt and stared with contempt as the sailor stumbled backward.

"Now, how difficult was that?" He drawled. His stomach growled, but he managed to eye the offered bread with disdain. "Now, Ambassador Perrault may have told you I am prisoner, but as of yet, I have not been charged with anything. I am Prince of the Southern Isles. Now, if you know what's good for you, you best find me something other than stale bread."

There was a chill to his voice and a satisfied sneer as the man nodded, scrambling away.


	2. Responsibilities

**Notes:**

The constellations mentioned in this chapter are Old Norse constellations - I figured rock trolls probably wouldn't go in for the conventional ones we're familiar with today, soI thought I'd have some fun with it. I've tried to be reasonably true to the stars visible in the northern hemisphere in July/August - but astronomy is by no means my forte!

'Vinterbrauta' is, apparently, one of the Norwegian name for the Milky Way. It means 'The Winter Way', which I rather liked.

Bonus point if you can see the (glaringly obvious) borrowing from some of Frozen's deleted scenes in this chapter.

As ever - thank you for your favs, follows and reviews. Hope you enjoy the chapter! :) x

* * *

The encampment by the ice fields was, as expected, populated by a fair few ice harvesters. They cheered as they saw Kristoff pull up.

"Bjorgman!"

He raised a hand in greeting, and, after finding Sven a pail of ice water and a carrot dinner, joined the group of men.

They were huddled by a small fire, mead and hands of cards clutched close. As Kristoff thumped down beside then, he was greeted by a few slaps on the back and a bottle of mead.

"A'right, Bjorgman?"

"A'right, Ralph?"

The man named Ralph nodded and reordered his hand. "Bastard weather, in't?"

Another man, who had just played a nine-high straight, chipped in. "Nightmare."

"Stranded, Gus?"

"Yeah. Nightmare."

"Dug-out?"

"Yeah."

The harvesters spoke with as much effort as was needed for meaning: no more, no less. Though masculinity seemed to hang upon the area, there was something oddly soothing about the strange, inference heavy dialect of the men. It was familiar and relaxed and Kristoff felt the calm confidence the journey up had given him settle in for the night. He took a swig of mead.

Each man considered their hand.

Finally, the last card was turned and a man Kristoff knew as Raske played a full house. Breath was sucked through teeth and Raske grinned, sweeping his winnings towards himself.

"Cleaned out. Next round, Bjorgman?"

Soon the only light was that of the fire, and the sporadic yet fiercely jovial conversation of the ice harvesters swelled and ebbed with the night. Mead flowed and they occasionally paused at cards to warm their hands in the fire's generous heat. The snow around them had melted to reveal stone and earth and a few brave blades of grass – but Kristoff knew that the ice plains now swallowed by the darknness remained solid, gleaming and impassive.

Finally, the conversation turned to Kristoff.

"Sell that ice, Bjorgman?"

"Nah. Blizzard hit as I was heading back. Lost the whole lot."

"Lost?"

"Long story." Kristoff casually waved a hand toward his new sled, which was still just visible in the fire's glow. "New sled."

As the ice harvesters squinted over, there were some murmurs of appreciation.

"Business must be good."

Kristoff tried not to be too smug.

"Must corner like it's on rails."

This Kristoff could confirm.

"Turning heads?"

Kristoff smiled. "Maybe a few,"

"Oh?"

"So lost ice – where you been? Not harvesting. 'Less you got some new spot?"

Kristoff laughed and shook his head, but did not elaborate. The man named Ralph nudged him.

"So?"

Kristoff shrugged in a kind of non-committal way.

The man named Gus slapped his knee. "'Sgot a girl."

There was more laughter at this, and Kristoff couldn't help but grin a little.

"He does! Good work, Bjorgman."

"Poor love. Ten says she's no looker."

Kristoff aimed a shove at Raske for that, but the man dodged and grinned. The conversation ebbed on once more.

* * *

After they'd finally retired from cards for the night, Kristoff lay by the fire, looking at the stars.

It was a clear night; a beautiful night. He had one arm tucked behind his head and the other resting against Sven's side, who was huddled beside him, snoring.

The new sleeping roll had yet to acquire the pungent mountain odour of his old one, but it was definitely warmer.

Kristoff shifted. It was no feather bed, but he had missed sleeping under this canopy of stars. They twinkled so constantly and had always been there for him, whether he was staying with his family or camping out by the ice plains. He knew all the constellations, and traced a few with his eyes.

Directly above there was Dain, and the Duneyr; to the south hung Hellewagon and to the west, Friggerock and Thiassi's Eyes; to the east, Eagle and Vedrfolnir played amongst that strange, silvery shadow that scored the night sky like a mountain pass, which Kristoff knew only as _Vinterbrauta_ , but Grandpabbie always muttered sage, mystical words at.

Tonight, it was only the stars, but sometimes, in the colder months – and bizarrely enough, even during Elsa's impromptu winter – the heavens would put on a light show that Kristoff could never sleep through. Since he was a boy, he would lie, head back, watching these celestial performances.

He briefly wondered if Anna had ever done that. It would be hard, living in a castle, but it seemed like the kind of thing that would ignite that spark in her that was passionate about the smallest of beauties.

Kristoff smiled thinking on that.

He had no idea when he'd dropped off – the sight of the stars and thoughts of Anna seemed to have entwined in his dreams and they'd been sitting here together, watching them – but suddenly, the sun had crested over the horizon and Sven's hot muzzle was nudging him awake.

"Ok, ok, I'm up."

With a groan and a stretch Kristoff wriggled out of his sleeping roll and groped about in his pack and the bundle of food Anna had given him. Taking a generous bite out of a loaf of bread – pumpkin, it tasted like – and _God_ , delicious – Kristoff passed a carrot to Sven and removed various tools from the back of his sled before following the steady trudge of harvesters across the plains. The hum of their working songs rumbled through his chest.

* * *

Anna was driving everyone insane.

She'd always been extroverted, full of energy, prone to poor judgement and sometimes it was impossible to talk sense into her – but this week she was on complete bender. She hadn't caused this much chaos, Gerda confided in Elsa one afternoon, since she was eight and had discovered the kitchen's carefully hidden chocolate supply. The servants still shuddered at the mention of that particular incident.

One minute she'd be painting – the next baking, or horse-riding, then cycling, or dancing, or making a very misguided foray into archery – but inevitably, she would be distracted by scanning the horizon before hurtling off in search of something new.

 _"_ _Anna,"_ Elsa said on the fourth day of Kristoff's absence, as her sister was delivered in disgrace to her office for destroying an entire market stall of pies, "What is _wrong_ with you this week?"

Anna hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Elsa. It was an accident, with the pies – and the stilt walker – "

"What _stilt walker?_ Actually, I don't want to know," Elsa shook her head. "Anna, this is ridiculous. Pick one thing and stick with it. I know you miss Kristoff, but you're almost nineteen years old, and you're acting like – "

At this, Anna flared up. "Maybe, _Elsa_ , if you treated me like I was almost nineteen years old, then I'd be more inclined to act like it!"

Elsa blinked, stung. "What?"

"Every time I ask if I can help, you send me away with Olaf!" Anna raged, resisting the overwhelming urge to stamp her foot. It would not help her cause. "I am _not_ a child Elsa, but you're giving me nothing to do! I want to help!"

Elsa was speechless for a moment, exasperation ebbing. "Anna, you cannot blame your childish behaviour on me."

"Just watch me!" Anna flumped down into the chair opposite Elsa's desk, arms tightly crossed. "I am going _crazy_ here."

"You're not the only one," Elsa muttered. Mercifully, Anna did not hear. "You really want something to do?"

"I really do. Please, Elsa," she unfolded her arms. "Just give me a chance."

Elsa bit her lip. She really did have enough on her plate without complaints that her over-enthusiastic sister had – burnt a house down or something – but maybe Anna was right. She deserved some responsibility. And honestly, Elsa felt it was only a matter of time before one of the servants (or, more likely, the visiting architect, whom Anna had followed round for hours the previous day, chattering inanely and bombarding with a million and one questions as he tried to take measurements) throttled her sister.

Elsa sifted through some papers.

"Here," she finally found what she was looking for and slid it across the desk. "These are notes on the damages to the town – property destruction from the storm. I need someone to go around and confirm they are true, and add details about what needs to be done in terms of repairs. I was going to send one of the new members of staff to do it, but – if you really want to help, this would be really useful."

Anna scanned the page with great excitement. "Oh Elsa, thank you! I won't let you down, I promise."

"You'll need a map." Elsa rummaged around in some drawers for a moment before extracting and passing Anna a large folded piece of paper. "Gerda told me one of your escapades this week had been trying to learn the town's layout, but I don't know how far you got – and let's maybe not put it to the test right away."

Anna stood, clutching the documents to her chest and beaming. She mock-saluted her sister. "Thank you, your majesty."

And she skittered out the door at a hundred miles an hour.

Elsa wearily sighed and called for some strong coffee.


	3. Missions and Masters

**Notes:**

Anna handles responsibility for the first time (tbh probably in forever) with mixed results.

I did a fair bit of research into the Ice Trade for the last part of this chapter - which was actually very interesting. I've tried to reflect the information I found as best as possible.

* * *

Anna fought to make sense of the map. She'd always hated geography lessons as a child, far preferring the stories about travel and far-off lands to the actually practicalities of facts and symbols.

She frowned, muttering to herself, the list of damages tucked behind the map and a pencil behind her ear.

"Ok, so, Steenson Lodge…"

She traced the route with her finger, wandering along and glancing up regularly to get her bearings.

Finally, after at least three wrong turns, she saw a large, hanging sign welcoming her to the finest lodge in Arendelle.

She squinted down at the list again.

 _Steenson Lodge, collapsed chimney and dislodged roof tiles…_

Anna glanced around. To her left was an apple cart, its shafts resting on the cobbled street, clearly in the process of being unloaded.

She clambered up for a better view of the Lodge's roof.

Hmm. Still not completely clear. If she could just get a little higher, maybe grab onto the sign of the building next to her for a little more leverage –

 _SHHDUDUDUDUFF._

As she reached for a new handhold, the cart started to roll, squeaking and bumping down the street and with a yelp, Anna found herself clinging on to the top of the adjacent building's sign, legs kicking helplessly in mid air, map and list fluttering uselessly to the floor. There were apples _everywhere_.

"Oh – damn."

People were staring, some laughing, all looking up at the commotion. Anna felt herself going red – and losing her grip. She sent up a silent prayer that she was wearing enough layers of petticoats to somewhat preserve her modesty.

Thankfully, a burly young lad come hurrying over from the blacksmith's opposite to help her down.

"Just let go – I'll catch you, I'm right here."

Anna peeked down. The boy was standing with his legs firmly planted and arms ready.

"Ok – thank you – I'm really sorry – " She squeezed her eyes shut and slipped off the sign.

With a slight thump – she was heavier than she looked, and thanked God every day that full, hip-disguising skirts were the height of fashion – she dropped into the boy's arms. He put her down.

"You all right?"

"Yes, thank you – I'm just totally hopeless. I don't even know how that happened." She smiled at the boy and stooped to pick up her papers before the slight breeze carried them away. When she straightened, she saw that the good-natured amusement had been replaced by panic. The boy dropped into a very, very low bow.

"My lady – I'm so sorry, I had no idea – "

"Oh – " Anna flapped a hand – "Don't worry about it, I had to get down somehow!" She laughed, and began gathering up the apples strewn about –

But another person, a young woman, stopped her.

"No no, your ladyship, please don't worry – I shouldn't have left the cart there in the first place – "

The apples were collected in a matter of seconds and suddenly everyone was bobbing into curtsies and bows.

Anna blinked.

"I'm so sorry – I'm just stupidly clumsy and I wasn't looking properly – thank you?" And she hurried to into Steenson Lodge, mulling over the bizarre licence for chaos bestowed by royal blood.

* * *

"Being a princess is weird, isn't it?" Anna remarked over dinner, rather out of the blue.

Elsa raised an eyebrow at her.

Mercifully, the list of repairs had kept Anna out all day – providing some respite for Elsa and the castle staff – and she had returned just before dinner, strangely contemplative. From a few probing questions and the messy page of notes Anna had presented, it seemed the errand had gone well – but Anna seemed to have surprisingly few stories to regale her sister with.

"You know. People's whole attitude changes when they realise who you are." She gestured vaguely with her fork. "It's crazy."

Elsa laughed. "Anything in particular prompt this epiphany?"

Anna shrugged. "Being in town today. So many bows. I never really noticed growing up, because people _always_ knew who we were in the castle. I assumed everybody sort of acted the same to everybody."

Elsa shook her head. "You amaze me, Anna."

"But I mean, books are always about kings and queens and nobles," she insisted, impaling a tomato on her fork. "No one really writes about just ordinary people. Why is that?"

Elsa shrugged.

Anna fell into ponderous quiet.

"Thank you for doing that list for me today, Anna." Elsa said, nudging her sister under the table with her foot. "I really appreciate it. I'm sorry I didn't trust you with anything sooner."

Anna rolled her eyes, but the change of subject seemed to have the desired effect and her infectious grin appeared again. "I cannot _believe_ you doubted me."

"Are you up for something else tomorrow?"

Anna nodded eagerly. "I was thinking about that when I was in town, actually."

Elsa raised her eyebrows again. "Oh?"

"Oh. I had a look in the town hall because I heard music, and there was a big choir of kids in there. From all over, by the looks of them."

Elsa frowned.

"I'd love to help out with that. Helping give something back to Arendelle. Doing something nice for people." She shrugged. "You know?"

"You mean like charity work?"

Anna slapped the table. "Yes! That's the word I was going for. Ow," she rubbed her hand. "Like charity work. Would that be ok?"

Elsa considered. This could be something that would work very well. Anna had a big heart and too much time on her hands – wasn't that the perfect combination for charity work?

"I'll make enquires. Whatever makes you happy, Anna."

* * *

Lugging his blocks of ice onto the scales outside the guildhall's icehouse, Kristoff did not notice the small, awestruck boy dressed in the queen's livery until Sven nudged him painfully in the ribs.

"Ow! _What_ , Sven?"

"Umm, excuse me? Master Bjorgman?"

Kristoff frowned at the boy in surprise. _Master?_

"Me?"

The boy glanced down at the piece of paper in his hand. "Yes? Um, Kristoff Bjorgman, Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer? I was told I would find you here."

 _Oh, of course._ Ice _Master._

"Yeah, sorry. That's me. What can I do for you?"

The boy bowed low. Kristoff grimaced.

"I have a message from the queen."

Kristoff continued to heave the ice blocks off his sled. A bored-looking man leaning against the guildhall was checking the weight.

"Yeah?"

"She wishes to see you at your earliest convenience."

"Ok. Just – hang on a second. How many blocks is that, Stefan?"

"Twelve. At 300 pound a block, as usual. Reliable as ever, Bjorgman. "

"Great. Same rates?"

"Same rates."

Gold changed hands. Kristoff safely stowed his earnings in the pouch on Sven's harness and turned back to Elsa's messenger.

"Right. The queen wants to see me?"

"Yes sir," the boy stumbled. He couldn't have been older than fifteen, and was absolutely dwarfed by Kristoff. He kept stealing awestruck looks at the ice harvester's enormous shoulders. "At your earliest conveenence. convenience."

Kristoff sighed. What he really wanted was a hot meal and a nap and Anna's company – but he knew Elsa wouldn't keep him long. He liked that about her.

"All right, we're coming. One more trip Sven, then you can have a rest."

The reindeer grunted wearily.


	4. Give and Take

**Notes:**

An extra long, extra fluffy chapter today especially for all my fellow Brits sitting through the election night.

Hopefully you feel the fluff in this chapter is still true to character - I wasn't 100% sure while writing it. Let me know in the comments! X

* * *

They reached the castle and safely stowed the sled in the carriage house – as Anna had said they could. Kristoff heaved his knapsack onto his back and picked up the bag of tools; Sven could hardly keep his eyes open.

"Come on you."

Asking the messenger boy to wait just a second, Kristoff hurried over to the stables. He poked his head inside.

"Jakob?"

A shout told him the stablemaster was somewhere nearby.

"Jakob, it's Kristoff. Can I leave Sven here for a few hours? We've just got back from the mountains. "

The portly stablemaster's head and shoulders appeared in the office doorway. He was clearly leaning back in his chair and waved to Kristoff.

"No problem. Queen Elsa told me to insist that you stabled Sven here anyway. Extended guests privileges, I think she said."

Kristoff felt a rush of gratitude. "That's great. Thanks."

Sven staggered over to his usual stall and collapsed down on the hay. He was asleep in seconds.

Kristoff smiled. "Atta boy. You did good."

He eased the pack off his back and carefully placed the bag of tools at the side of the stall before grabbing a few carrots and a pail of water for Sven when he woke up.

Calling goodbye to Jakob, he went to retrieve the messenger boy who, he was slightly amused to note, had not moved an inch since he'd left.

"You ok?"

The messenger nodded and bowed. "The queen is in her office, Master Bjorgman."

They made their way into the castle and up its dizzying stairs, the young messenger trotting to keep up with Kristoff's long, plodding strides.

Elsa looked up at the knock on the open door.

"Kristoff. Please, come in."

He trudged in and at a gesture from the queen, sat in the chair across from her. He looked much too big for it.

"Thank you, Nikolas. That will be all."

The boy cast one final awestruck look at Kristoff before bowing and hurrying away.

Elsa chuckled.

"He's new to the staff. Very well-meaning."

Elsa poured a cup of steaming tea from the delicate set before her.

"You don't drink tea," said Kristoff, stupidly.

Elsa gave him a look. "It's for you, Kristoff. I'm already had about a gallon of coffee today."

She handed him the cup and rose to stand by the window.

"I'm sorry to drag you up here Kristoff – you must be exhausted – but there a just a few things I need to discuss with you."

Kristoff nodded. "It's all right, your majesty. Sven's more tired than I am."

"Just Elsa, please. First of all," she turned from the window and smiled at him. "I want to say how happy I am you're back, Kristoff. It's good to see you. Anna has been climbing the walls."

Kristoff's mouth tugged into a smile.

"You think I'm joking. It has been absolutely insane." Elsa shook her head and sat back down at the desk. "Honestly… I've managed to keep her busy, mostly – I'm sure she'll tell you later – but…" she trailed off with an exasperated sigh that left Kristoff wondering what on earth Anna had been up to.

A strangely delicate sensation fluttered in his enormous chest at the thought of seeing her.

"Secondly, I hope all is well with the sled. I've drawn up the documentation – mainly duties and privileges – for Ice Master and Deliverer, and I'd be glad if you could look over it at some point today."

She slid some papers across the desk. Kristoff took them and nodded.

"It's a position that hasn't been filled for several generations – I've made some, ah, updates to the role – but I think it should all be to your taste."

Kristoff was surprised at this. "It's a real thing?"

Elsa looked confused.

He felt himself flushing. "I mean, uh – when Anna said about it, I – hadn't ever heard of it, so I assumed you'd, well – "

"Made it up?" Elsa quirked an eyebrow and smiled. "You think too much of me, Kristoff. I'm not _that_ inventive."

Remembering her ice palace, Kristoff privately disagreed. But it did give him a little comfort to hear that Ice Master and Deliverer was – well – _traditional_ , in a way.

"One last thing – I hope all went well with your trip to the mountains. Should I ask the servants to make up one of the guest rooms for you?"

"Um." Kristoff shifted. "Only if you're sure. I can get a room in town if it's easier."

Elsa shook her head and brushed off his objections with a wave of her hand – a very Anna-esque gesture. "Not at all. I'll see a room is prepared. Where are your things?"

"I uh, just left them in the stables with Sven – thank for that, by the way, with the stables – but it's ok, I can – "

Elsa nodded and brushed off these objections too. "Not at all. Extended guests are welcome to keep their reindeers in the stables, Kristoff, and I'll have a servant retrieve your things. Welcome back."

Kristoff understood himself to be dismissed, so stammered his thanks, drained his tiny teacup and stood. He'd almost made it to the door when he turned back to the queen. "Is – do you know if – Anna's around?"

Elsa glanced up at him, a smile playing on her lips. "I believe she's in the kitchens. Ground floor, down the corridor from the south entrance."

A good twenty minutes and three wrong turns later, he found the kitchens – partly in the last few minutes by following the unmistakable sound of Anna's laughter. His heart leapt with every peal.

He peered around the door to the kitchens.

Anna stood before a work surface, in profile to the entrance. She seemed to be attacking a ball of dough under the very concerned eye of a hovering kitchen maid: her whole front was covered in flour, her hair was messily bundled on top of her head and her sleeves were rolled up to above the elbow. Kristoff thought she looked absolutely wonderful.

"Hey."

A wide-eyed look that lasted half a second, and her whole, floury form hurtled towards him.

" _Kristoff!"_

She collided with him, throwing her arms around his neck and grinning ear to ear _. "You're back!"_

"Hey," he said again, grin matching hers. "I hear you've been causing trouble."

"Slander and lies," she sang. "You're _back_!"

Grinning like an idiot, and with her arms still slung about his neck, Kristoff dared to put his own about her waist, Elsa's papers still in hand. "I am."

There was a moment that neither could ignore that swelled with impulse – but they shied away as one, and Anna contented herself with slipping her hand into his and dragging him over to the work surface.

"I've been making pastry. Well, _trying_ to make pastry."

"My lady, you are doing very well – " the maid tried to interject.

"This is my third batch of dough," Anna explained conspiratorially, hand still tight around Kristoff's. "I think I've been overly-ambitious."

Kristoff couldn't hold back a laugh.

"You are a liability."

"Oh, God, oops. You're covered in flour." The princess guiltily noticed the large, Anna-shaped impression on the front of his shirt. She made some ineffectual attempts to brush it down.

"You should see yourself."

For the first time, Anna looked down and seemed to notice how absolutely coated she was. She looked with dismay at the kitchen maid.

"Lisa, I'm so sorry. I think I've used half the flour on myself."

Lisa tried not to laugh. "It's all right, my lady. There's no grain shortage that I've heard of."

Anna frowned and looked from Kristoff to the kitchen maid. She sighed. "Lisa, do you think this dough can be rescued?"

Lisa hesitated for a second. "In truth, it may not be the best pastry the kitchen has ever produced. But we can bake it if you like, my lady."

Anna nodded very sadly. "Maybe not." She slipped off the borrowed apron. "Thank you, Lisa. Sorry."

"Not at all, my lady. It is a privilege to assist."

Brushing down her front, Anna made for the door, Kristoff falling effortlessly into step beside her.

"How was your trip?"

"Great. Thankfully the value of ice doesn't seem to have fallen after Elsa's winter, which is good. And the sled is fantastic." He grinned at her. "How about you?"

"Ah, you know," Anna waved a hand about. "Bits and bobs. Keeping busy."

"Elsa said you'd been a nightmare."

Anna's mouth fell open in indignation.

"That is _so_ unfair. I've been helping out the past few days!"

"Hey," he went to put an arm round her shoulders, but thought better of it. "I'm kidding. She only implied it. Hey!" She gave his arm a shove with a surprising amount of force. "Go on. What have you been helping with?"

"Damage surveillance," Anna replied, proudly puffing her chest out. "And I've been organising charity work. With kids. Providing creative and constructive enrichment activities." She looked rather pleased. "At least, that's the tagline Elsa helped my come up with."

Kristoff was impressed.

"That's awesome. Nice work."

"Thank you," she beamed. "It's been crazy. But good crazy." They reached the bottom of one of many staircases. Anna glanced down at herself again. "Do you mind if I go change quickly?"

"Sure. Shall I wait here, or…?"

"Oh no, come with – if you want to, I mean, I don't want to keep you, if you've got stuff to do – or you can wait here if you prefer, or – "

Kristoff smiled. "I'll come with you. If that's ok? I think all I have to do today is look at these papers Elsa gave me." He glanced down at them, still clutched in his hand. They were now a little bit floury.

"Ooh, papers? Is this for the Ice Master job?" Changing apparently forgotten, she peered down at them, cocking her head to one side to read Elsa's slanting handwriting. He held them up and she took them with curiosity.

"I haven't seen them at all yet – me and Elsa only spoke about it briefly, she's been super busy – and making sure I'm out of the way – can I read, after you?"

"Sure," said Kristoff again, shifting a little uncomfortably. He'd only had a cursory look over the papers Elsa had given him, but it had been enough for him to see that much of its contents was beyond his functional grasp of written English – but he'd be damned if he told Anna that. "Sure, if you want."

She grinned and handed them back. "I do want. Now come on, I need to change. Will you stay for dinner tonight?"

"If you want me to."

"I do."

"Then sure."

When Anna emerged a few minutes later, relatively flour-free and as smiley as ever, she took his arm. "Do you want to change at all? You're all mountain-y."

"That would be a good idea."

They made their way down to the guest rooms – Kristoff imagined Elsa would have had his things moved by now, she was a stickler for efficiency.

"Great," he smiled broadly, seeing his knapsack placed neatly beside the fresh bed. He opened a flap on the side of the bag and, before changing, carefully extracted two little wooden objects.

He went back to the door where Anna stood.

"These are for you."

He opened his palm to reveal the little objects – a tiny rough-hewn reindeer and snowman.

Anna gasped.

"Wow!"

Eyes wide and sparkling and hands outstretched like a child.

"Kristoff, they're wonderful! How did you… wow. They're beautiful!"

Kristoff felt his heart swell with her joy.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," he said, a little gruffly. "You like them?"

"I _love_ them!" Anna took the little whittled creatures and looked more closely at them for a second. The she folded them in her hands and held them to her chest, looking up at him with a smile that lit up her face like the sun. Or the northern lights.

She sighed a tiny, almost imperceptible sigh of contentment.

After a beat, her eyes flickered down his form and back up. They darted to his mouth. Back to his eyes. And again.

He had no idea if she even realised she was doing it, but it was far too much.

With all the grace of a flightless bird, Kristoff put an arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss.

When they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his chest and sighed very happily, breathing in his horrible, week-in-the-mountains smell and not minding a bit.

"Missed you."

"You too."

* * *

They went to the library, of course.

Anna plopped herself down on one of the sofas. She patted the seat beside her.

Kristoff obligingly sat and handed her the papers.

"Here. You read them."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he had a feeling she would read them aloud, and that would solve a lot of problems. "Saves us reading them twice."

Anna nestled down into the sofa and cleared her throat. "Roles and responsibilities of the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. Section A, part one, supervisory capacity. The Official is charged with co-ordinating all transaction documents pertaining to the sale and exportation of ice from Arendelle. This co-ordinated information must be presented to the queen at the end of each month…"

As Anna read, Kristoff tried to log every piece of information in his brain. He'd always had a good memory – the Trolls placed great emphasis on that, and growing up he'd done memory game after memory game – but sifting through this formal language to retain the key information was something of a slog.

"…section D, part one, titles. The Official is hereby named guildmaster of the Ice Harvesters guild. This provides him with lodgings and keep at the guildhall, as well as responsibility for all grievances and complaints of guild members. The Official may respond and deal with such issues in what they see as the appropriate manner – though all decisions must be recorded and available on request for any person to see.

"Part two, employment. Though ultimately answerable to the Crown, the Official remains responsible for his own business and financial well being…"

Kristoff was relieved to hear that. He'd always been his own superior, and he had no desire for that to change.

"…part four, royal relations. As guildmaster, the Official has the same privileges as all other…" Anna trailed off, frowning at the paper. "What on earth is that? Elsa's handwriting," she shook her head and thrust the paper towards Kristoff, pointing at a particularly swirly squiggle. "Any idea what that says?"

Kristoff tried desperately to hide his discomfort. He briefly glanced at the letters and shapes which, for the most part, could be complete gibberish, and shook his head.

"No idea."

"Hmmm." Anna took it back and frowned. "elesa… ehsa… eleganted? No. That's never a 'g'." She cocked her head to one side. "Elevated? Elevated! That makes sense." She smiled at Kristoff and continued. "Same privileges as all other _elevated_ executive representatives in regard to the royal family: unless directly vetoed by a member of the family, the Official is free to make use of castle quarters, amenities, and services. The Official is privy to all matters of policy concerning their guild and may challenge these decisions as appropriate. The Official is free to court whomsoever and attend all castle events, granted that the correct royal permissions are requested first."

Anna paused for a moment, scanning the paper and nodded. She looked up.

"And that's it. What do you think? Does it all seem ok? I can talk to Elsa if there's anything you're not sure about, or you don't like – I have no idea how similar it already is to what you do in your ice business, but – "

Kristoff nodded. "It sounds pretty similar. But on a larger scale. And with more perks."

"Perks?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "A lot more. Like Sven being able to stay in some decent stables. And being allowed to see you." He flushed a bit as he said this and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

Anna was confused. "You could see me even if you weren't – " she glanced back at the paper – " _Guildmaster_. Which is a pretty fancy title, by the way."

Kristoff shifted. "I don't know. Not sure how well that would go down."

Anna gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. "Well, I wouldn't care."

He half-smiled at her. "You wouldn't, would you?"

"Nah," she swung her legs up onto the sofa, knees up and feet resting against the side of his leg. "I mean, what do titles even do? You can be the Prince of the Southern Isles and a pig, or you can be a blacksmith and be a _gentleman_. It's your heart that counts, right?"

Kristoff nodded, thinking. She nudged him with the papers, and he took them, folded them, and was about to stow them in a pocket –

"Do you not want to have a look?"

"You just read them to me."

"I know, but – " legs down again, she scooted up beside him and unfolded the paper. "There must be some things you want to check or change, right? Are there any bits you're not sure about?"

He was sure she was trying to be helpful.

"No, it – it all seems great, honestly."

"Kristoff." She frowned. "Seriously, I won't be offended. I promise to take any complaints to Elsa in the most professional and diplomatic of manners." She solemnly held up her head. "On my honour as Princess and newly appointed Damage Surveyor of Arendelle."

Kristoff cracked a smile, but her ridiculousness did not completely dislodge the uncertain weight in his stomach.

"I think it's… too much. You and Elsa have been… you've given me too much." He shifted uncomfortably.

She frowned. "We like giving you things."

"I know but – I don't deserve them. Not really." He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't – arghh," he cursed his lack of words. "I don't know." He gestured vaguely.

"Kristoff, it's not… we're not giving you things because we have to. We _want_ to. _I_ want to." She took his hand. "You're our _friend_. Well, Elsa's friend, and my – weird – whatever-this-is – person. It's not about _deserving_ or anything like that."

Kristoff felt he should move his hand, but really didn't want to. Her little palm against his was warm, very slightly sweaty and almost electric in its contact. He brooded, staring at their folded hands and very gently stroked her fingers with his thumb.

"I don't want you to feel you have to support me or anything," he said, finally. "I can look after myself. Always have."

Anna squeezed his hand. "I know you can. But I _want_ to… give you things. It's the only thing I'm good at," she grinned sheepishly. "Giving. And I think Elsa's kind of hooked on it too. It's addictive, helping people out."

"But I don't need helping."

"But it's silly to refuse what's freely offered."

"That's true."

They fell into silence for a moment.

"It's not a question of – looking after you, or anything. I just like… giving," Anna's face was screwed up, trying to marshal her thoughts. "That sounded much better in my head. Less weird."

Kristoff grinned at her ridiculous expression. "You're crazy."

"Good crazy, right?"

"Good crazy."

"But seriously," she dropped his hand and picked up the discarded paper once more. She waved it about. "Is there anything here that's not ok?"

"Um, no. It all sounds good. Great, actually."

"Well then. That's good. Great, actually."

She leaned over and kissed him.


	5. Home

**Notes:**

Sorry for the longer time between updates - been struggling with the development of some later arcs.

This chapter covers Hans' return to the Southern Isles and beginning to learn some semblance of normality in Arendelle.

* * *

The room was enormous, echoing and achingly familiar.

Hans would know it anywhere: it was ornate, glittering, cold. It had always been cold here. He scowled. He had no desire to be back.

His father sat sunk in his throne, legs splayed; his stepmother – his father's fifth wife, at least thirty years his junior – sat upright and stiff, on the edge of her seat; seven of his brothers stood grouped about them, hands behind backs, chins up and looking for all the world like they were posed for a family portrait.

It was a formidably cold group, and Hans felt his heartrate increase.

They sent out the dignitary and guards who had accompanied Hans. The Arendellian guards looked very reluctant, but could not well refuse a direct royal order in the kingdom of another monarch.

The door shut behind them and Hans bowed low.

"Mother. Father."

"Hans, stand up straight. Why have you been delivered back to us in disgrace?"

One of his brothers made a disparaging noise. "Didn't I tell you this would happen? I said, Arendelle will require careful handling, the gates have been shut for years – "

"Quiet, Claus," their mother snapped. "Explain yourself, Hans."

Hans wanted nothing more than to shrug sulkily, tell them to read for themselves – but he knew he was in serious trouble. It would not do to aggravate the people with whom rested his fate. "I am ashamed to have disgraced the family name. I pray you will forgive me, understand my – "

"What did you do, boy?" His stepmother cut across irritably. "We do not have time for grovelling."

Hans scowled. "There was a misunderstanding between Princess Anna and myself."

An icy chill to match Elsa's swept across from his stepmother. "What kind of misunderstanding?"

"We become engaged, and – "

"Oh God," his brother Johannes put a hand to his eyes. "Are we to be fielding the illegitimate child of Princess Anna?"

"No!" Hans flushed very red, conscious of the filth coating his clothing, his unkempt hair, his still-swollen nose and, ultimately, how much of an idiot he looked in front of his family. "Do not think me so foolish."

"Then what?"

"I don't know if word of the Snow Queen of Arendelle has reached you yet – "

"What do you mean?" asked his stepmother sharply. "What do you mean, Snow Queen?"

Hans felt very slightly smug. At least he knew something his family did not. "You mean word hasn't reached you yet? I thought all of Europe must know."

"What, Hans? Don't be insolent," Johannes snapped. "It doesn't suit you."

"Queen Elsa is afflicted with a curse of some sort. She has the power to conjure snow and ice – often accidently. She plunged Arendelle into a terrible winter halfway through the coronation." Hans paused, pleased to see the stunned faces of his family. "Princess Anna, with whom I had formed a deep connection and become engaged to, left me to rule Arendelle in her stead when she went to talk to her sister, who had fled. Anna fell prey to the Queen's power, and so, when they returned, I thought it was only just and right that Queen Elsa be executed for what I saw as treason."

Not a single member of his family knew what to say.

"Princess Anna, somehow released from her sister's magic, did not take this point of view. No doubt under her sister's spell. And here I am," he held out his arms, suddenly seeing an advantage to his dishevelled state. "Exiled, humiliated and, as you say, _disgraced_ , because I tried to do right by Arendelle and save them from the rule of an evil sorcerer. I tried to uphold the values of justice and dignity you have taught me, and am now to be punished for it." He bowed again. "Make of that what you will."

Hans' father looked shocked and – Hans hardly dared to believe it – impressed. Some of his brother's shared a similar expression.

His stepmother, however, remained cold and aloof. She raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks with the brothers who had always led the teasing of Hans as a child.

"Oh Hans, you always were a little liar. Always, as a child, you were prone to dishonesty and wild exaggeration," she appraised him coolly. "Will the letter from Queen Elsa corroborate your story? Or the word of the goodly ambassador who returned you hence?"

Hans shrugged, controlling with ease any panic his stepmother's words brought. With inscrutable smoothness, he said, "I do not know. I would expect nothing but lies and foul slander from Queen Elsa, and the ambassador may well be under her spell also. Princess Anna declared her love for me, agreed to be my wife, but after one conversation with her sorcerer sister, rejected me and had me exiled. Queen Elsa froze an entire kingdom, no doubt killing thousands, but somehow retains her power. Now if that is not proof of magical manipulation, I don't know what is."

The Queen of the Southern Isles took Elsa's letter from her husband and broke the wax seal. Several of Hans' brothers leant round to see.

There was a minute of silence as she read.

"Bring in that Ambassador, and the guards that accompanied you, Hans."

Hans flushed. "Mother – "

" _Do as I say_ , Hans."

Scowling, Hans did so. The French Ambassador looked at him with distaste as he passed.

The Queen looked up from the letter.

"Ambassador Perrault. I understand from this letter that you were witness to the events of Queen Elsa's coronation – and all that followed?"

"Oui, your majesty. I 'ave faith zat every word Queen Elsa 'as said iz true. She iz a ruler of wizdom, 'onesty and integrity."

Hans' stepmother looked back at the letter.

" 'He has proved himself a villain, liar and would-be murderer motivated by nothing but greed and vile ambition'. These are the words written regarding my son. Do you vouch for their truth?"

"Very much so, your majesty."

"Mother," Hans interjected. "I pray you, forget not that these are the words of a _witch_ , a sorcerer who holds her kingdom in submission – "

"Prince 'ans," the Ambassador said smoothly, with thinly veiled distaste. "You may be a prince, but you are also my prizzinor. And, I 'ope, 'ave some concept of 'onour. Do not disgrace yourself furzzer with zese lies."

Hans gestured to the ambassador beseechingly. "As I said, a man under the unnatural control and influence of a sorcerer."

The Queen said nothing and looked back at the letter.

" 'Your son made it abundantly clear to my sister that his chief object in their engagement was unquestionably her inheritance, and the prospect of a kingdom of his own. I am sorry to inform you that your son then left my sister to freeze to death, before seeking out me and making an attempt on my life. It seems he believed that with us both dead, Arendelle would be his for the taking.' What have you to say to this, Ambassador?"

"Eet iz ze _truth_ , your majesty. Prince 'ans told myself and a dozen ozzer dignitaries Princess Anna 'ad died in 'is arms. Zis proved itself to be untrue. I do not know exactly what was said to 'er, but 'er word, 'er behaviour towardz 'im and 'is proven lies confirm eet to me."

Hans shook his head in disbelief. "I would do no such thing to Princess Anna. I believed her to be dead. I confess, grief may have clouded my judgement – it seems she simply must have lost consciousness, close to death – but my response to Queen Elsa's behaviour was justified. The charge of treason was agreed upon by _all_ dignitaries – I did not hear your protests then, Ambassador!"

The Ambassador looked at Hans with distaste. "Prince 'ans, indeed we were taken in by your charm and apparent sincerity. But the events of ze Great Thaw and the testimony ov both Princess Anna and 'er sister 'ave changed my mind. I made a mistake in trusting you – eet will _never_ 'appen again." He turned back to the king, queen and Hans' brothers. "I urge you to believe Queen Elsa's words."

The queen looked to her sons and husband. "I am inclined to take Queen Elsa at her word. Hans has ever been an ungrateful liar with a flair for cruelty. Have any of you any objections?"

The king finally spoke.

"We cannot be certain of what has happened," he said in his low, rumbling voice. "Agnes, he is our son."

"He is _your_ son. Hans, go to your chambers and change out of those filthy clothes. When you return, we will have decided what to do with you."

"I am not a child," he spat.

Hans' stepmother ignored this. She turned to another of her sons.

"Lukas, take Hans to his room. I do not trust him to escort himself."

Lukas bowed and grabbed his little brother roughly above the elbow. Hans shook him off and growled something unintelligible.

As the door shut behind them, the king sighed.

"Where did we go wrong with that one, Agnes?"

* * *

There was a strange but easy routine to the next few weeks.

Kristoff spent most of the day at the Ice Harvester's guild, talking to members and organising exports. In particular he was very keen to set up a more formal and structured apprentice system; when he was a kid, he'd been such a tag-along, trying not to bother the older workers but equally trying to impress them. He didn't want anyone else to ever go through that.

The rest of his time was split between seeing Sven, fiddling about on the lute, and seeing Anna. He came to dinner at the castle almost every night.

Anna threw herself into her charity work. If she wasn't helping organise 'creative and constructive enrichment activities' she was canvassing for support, or bothering the castle's architect about where he thought could be a good place to build a children's home.

When Kristoff had been telling her about his work on apprenticeships one very warm evening and in passing mentioned how he would have loved something like that as a kid, Anna had pressed him for details.

"How do you mean, a tag-along?"

"You know," Kristoff shrugged. "I never knew my birth parents, so I slept rough for a long time. One day I went to sleep in some blankets on the back of a cart. When I woke up, I was in the mountains and there were guys with pick-axes everywhere. They were pretty nice, and shared some food with me, and it was so beautiful up there, I figured I'd stay and learn the business. I couldn't cut big blocks, but I could make a bit of money."

Anna was appalled.

"… _what?_ That's… that's awful!" In distress, she threw her arms around him and squeezed. "Oh my God," she bit her lip and squeezed again. "That's… Oh my God."

Kristoff shrugged again, and patted her on the back in a 'there there' sort of manner. "It was ok. I had Sven, and then I met the Trolls. But if I'd been able to get an apprenticeship, that would have been so much easier. Way better than just following ice harvesters around."

"You slept on the _streets_!" Anna was gesticulating wildly, clearly still completely overwhelmed. "You could have – _died_ – or – God, I don't know – "

Kristoff looked amused. "Not all of us were raised in a castle, princess."

And so she'd thrown herself into plans to build a children's home in Arendelle, to provide food and accommodation for homeless children.

"No more pre-troll Kristoffs," she'd said firmly. "Not if I can help it."

Elsa, meanwhile, was working – always working. When she did have a spare few hours, she would read, or be with her sister. Slowly but surely, she was consulting Anna about particular decisions, seeking her opinion and her thoughts. They were learning to know each other – learning tiny things – Elsa now knew that Anna absent-mindedly twiddled the strip of hair that used to be white when she was stressed. Elsa now knew that Anna's favourite novel was _Sense and Sensibility._ Elsa now knew Anna would never sit with both feet on the floor if she could help it.

They were small details; little details; details that make a person.


	6. Ace of Diamonds

**Notes:**

A really short chapter - but that's because the next sections is very long. Combining them together made a crazy word count. I'll put the next one up fairly soon :)

* * *

About a month and a half after the Great Thaw, when routine had well and truly settled in, Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff sat around after dinner. Olaf was contenting himself sliding about on his belly. Kristoff was teaching the sisters cards.

"Ok, so now, I'm going to play a pair of jacks," he explained, carefully laying down the two picture cards. "So, Anna, you can play any two card hand – so any pair – that's higher than mine. So queens, kings, or aces."

Anna frowned down at the fan of cards in her hand. She'd lost pretty much every round, and so had twice as many cards as anyone else.

"Ok. Um… ace of diamonds and ace of clubs." She laid them with a flourish.

"That's the ace of spades," Elsa pointed out.

"An ace is an ace," she said with satisfaction, flapping a hand.

"Great. So, unless Elsa has a higher pair – " Elsa shook her head – "you win that round. So you can play anything now."

"I won that one?!"

"Yeah."

"Amazing!" She shuffled through her cards, examining each one intently.

"Did you order them like I said?"

"Mostly," she replied. Extracting one, she laid a four. "My lowest card."

Kristoff exchanged a look with Elsa. "Ok, so, Anna – you can do that, but what you've forgotten is that Elsa's only got one card left. It's probably higher than a four, so – "

With satisfaction, Elsa laid down the queen of hearts.

"Oh," said Anna, crestfallen. "Oops."

"So, when someone's only got one card left," Kristoff explained patiently, collecting up the cards and shuffling them with an expert hand, "it's best just to play pairs. Or three or five card hands if you've got them."

Anna nodded.

"Again?"

Elsa glanced at the clock, its watchful eye presiding over the dining hall's inhabitants. Ten to eleven.

"Best not." Elsa stretched. She lazily conjured a little ice-ramp for Olaf to go whizzing over.

Kristoff stacked the cards carefully in the centre of the table.

"What are you doing tomorrow, Elsa?" Anna asked, happily wriggling down in her chair and stretching her toes out to rest on Kristoff's opposite.

Elsa hesitated. "Actually – I'm hoping the men I sent to the Southern Isles should be returning with a letter from the Ambassador Perrault."

Kristoff tensed. Anna frowned. "The French guy?"

"Yes."

"He was nice," Anna remarked. "I liked him."

"Anna…"

"It's fine, Elsa," she smiled. "It's fine."

There was a very small pause.

"I should probably head to bed," said Kristoff gruffly. He rose, bobbed into a bow, and walked round the table to the door. He brushed Anna's arm with his fingers as he went.

When the door softly closed, Olaf hopped up into Kristoff's vacated seat, personal flurry leaving tiny snowflakes on the tabletop.

"Are you ok, Anna?" The snowman's eyes were wide and serious.

She smiled at him. "Of course I am."

"Do you want to hear about what's happened to Hans tomorrow or not?" Elsa said it very gently, and ran one of her sister's plaits through her fingers. "I don't mind either way."

Anna considered. Her eyebrows tipped up into a mountain.

"I really don't know."

"I think it might be good for you to have… some… closure?"

Anna didn't look at either of them, picked up her wine glass, rolled the last dregs around and around.

"I wish I'd never met him," she said quietly.

Elsa didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Olaf did.

"If you'd never met him, you wouldn't know about Elsa's powers. _Or_ have met Kristoff. _Or_ have met me, or Sven!" A sincere, toothless smile. "Things work out funny, you know?"

Anna considered this.

She _did_ know: there were so many things that would be different if she hadn't met Hans. She thought about her sister, whose cool touch rested on her hand. She thought about this little snowman with such a passion for _everything_. She thought about Ambassador Perrault, and Kai, and Gerda, and the new servants they'd been able to hire because of the open gates. She thought about Kristoff, whose story had inspired her to finally make change in this town.

She thought about her parents, and what they would make of it all.

"I guess that's true," she said, finally. "You're right, Olaf."

He looked rather pleased with himself.

Anna smiled at him. "Shall we read this letter tomorrow then, Olaf? See what's going on with Prince Jerkface of the Southern Liars?"

The little snowman wholeheartedly agreed.

When Anna left looking marginally happier, Elsa sighed and put her face in her hands.

"Are you not going to tell her how you feel about it all?"

The queen peeked at him through her fingers.

"Maybe. But now's not the time."

Olaf was unconvinced.


	7. Troll Constellations

**Notes:**

A real fluffy chapter today, looking at dealing with stress and providing a somewhat more realistic view on Anna's penchant for roof climbing and general parkour.

I'm going to start trying to juggle and develop a couple of this story's arcs over the next couple of chapters - hopefully things won't get lost or structurally muddled, but let me know if you do!

I know this fic has been a lot slower-paced than its predecessor - thanks for sticking with it.

BFM x

* * *

A knock at the door.

"Kristoff?"

Head and arms halfway through pulling off his shirt, he froze.

"Anna?"

"Yeah. Can I come in?"

"Um," he quickly wriggled back into the shirt, flattened his hair and chucked a few things – like the children's story books he'd borrowed from the library to help practice reading – out of sight. "Just a second."

He opened the door.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Just wanted to say good night."

"Ok."

The door was hardly open, and Kristoff made sure his considerable bulk blocked any view she might have of the mess within.

"Everything ok with Elsa?"

"Yeah. I'm going to read the letter about Hans tomorrow."

"Ok."

"I'm kind of nervous."

"Ok."

He pulled her into a huge hug. He didn't need to say anything else.

Head to the side, she rested her cheek on his chest. "It's stupid. I shouldn't be nervous about a _letter_."

"It's not stupid."

" _I'm_ stupid."

"You're not stupid either."

Quiet.

"Can we… I don't want to go to bed yet. Can we go for a walk?"

"Sure." Without question, Kristoff eased Anna out of the hug and closed the door to his guest bedroom. They walked down the corridor, with no particular destination in mind.

They ended up by the docks, wandering along in the moonlight. Anna didn't know where she wanted to go – on the one hand, she wanted to walk to every place that she had been with Hans, flood them with Kristoff, fill up the familiar places with new warmth and real feeling – but on the other, she was terrified of putting them anywhere close to each other in her mind. And how would Kristoff feel if he knew?

The unbroken face of the water was undulating and beautiful, the moon's reflection warped by the gentle dip and ebb.

"I reckon Elsa thinks I'm an idiot."

Kristoff looked down at her in surprise. "What? Why would she think that?"

Anna shrugged. "Just a feeling. She still won't… she's still shutting me out. After everything that's happened. Like I can't cope with it, or something."

Kristoff shook his head. "You just have to give her time, Anna. You kind of…" he tried explain what he meant with some jumpy hand gestures. "You know?"

He looked so ridiculous, she couldn't help but laugh. "No, I really don't know."

He dropped his hands. "Kind of… you're very fast."

"Fast?"

"Yeah. Like a… like a baby reindeer, or something."

"A _baby reindeer_?"

Kristoff cleared his throat. "Or something. You're…" he searched for the right word. "Impatient."

 _"_ _Impatient?"_

She was hurt.

"Nonono, in a good way. It's a good thing. I like it." He offered her a smile, beyond worried he'd upset her. "'We like to go fast', remember?"

She did remember.

They walked quietly for a moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw the roof of the fishery guildhall.

"You're good at climbing, right?"

Kristoff held up his hands. "I scale mountains for a living."

Anna grinned, and dragged him over to the building.

Anna prided herself on being very resourceful when it came to climbing buildings. She was lost on mountains, but she'd spent half her childhood up ladders or on battlements – much to the alarm of her parents, nurse and governess. She knew what materials held weight and the kind of architectural quirks that made perfect handholds.

A large number of empty barrels stood by the wall. Anna scrambled onto them, and reached up to find purchase on the lip of the roof.

"Woah woah woah, what are you doing?"

"Relax," she said. "I do this all the time."

Kristoff bit his lip and hovered, hands ready if she slipped.

"You're going to kill yourself."

"I am not. Trust me."

He did. Just not in matters of… physical co-ordination.

But she made it up, using the wooden grooves for support, and wobbled along to clamber up onto the second tier of the building.

Kristoff swore fluently under his breath, and hurried alongside the building, eyes never leaving Anna's feet.

 _"_ _What are you doing?"_

Finally, she perched on the ridge of the roof, legs dangling. "Come on!"

"How are you going to get down?"

"Same way I got up! Now come on!"

Kristoff wasn't sure.

"I normally climb with ropes. And picks."

"Then this should be easy!"

Muttering darkly, Kristoff swung himself up onto the barrels with ease and traversed the roof with a lot more balance and precision than she had. He sat beside her, one hand tightly gripping the ridge and the other her upper arm.

"Will you _warn_ me next time you're about to pull a stunt like that?"

Anna hardly noticed. She was still impressed by the speed with which he'd joined her.

"Woah," she said, appreciatively. "Hans needed help even getting onto the first roof."

She froze, realising what she'd said.

"You brought Hans here?" he asked, lightly.

"Well – no – not _here_ – I climb a lot of roofs," she explained. "Ever since I was a kid."

Kristoff shook his head. "Of course you did. Every day I am more surprised that you've survived this long."

She would have given him a shove for that, but – _roof_.

"Unfair. You, what, lived off carrots for the first eight years of your life? I'm surprise _you've_ survived this long. Let alone got as – " she made a general all-encompassing gesture at him – "As _big_."

Kristoff looked a little smug at that.

"Carrots. Good stuff."

She laughed. She slipped a hand about his arm and looked at the sky, hanging over the fjord.

"I love the stars."

Kristoff nodded. They sat for a moment.

"I like the lights."

"The lights?"

"Yeah. You know, the sky lights." He looked embarrassed. "That's what the Trolls call them."

She frowned. "The… stars?"

"No, no, the colourful ones – you only get them in winter, really. They're sort of – green and blue – they sort of look like snowdrifts."

"Ohh, you mean the northern lights? The aurora borals? Boreals? Baubles? I can never say the word."

Kristoff shrugged. "Sure, if that's what you call them."

"I _love_ them," Anna sighed. "I could never sleep through them as a kid. Or now really. It's like trying to sleep when the sun's up."

Kristoff looked down at her, brimming with a sudden, strange, overwhelming sense of familiarity. "Me neither."

"Really?" She was delighted, and in her excitement, wobbled far too much for Kristoff's liking. He steadied her with both his hands. "I never met someone else who couldn't! Elsa always thought I was crazy."

"You _are_ crazy."

"Good crazy, right?"

He grinned. "Right." Kristoff glanced down the roof's steep sides. "Can we get you off here in a second?"

"One more thing. Do you know any constellations?"

Kristoff almost rolled his eyes. "Do I know any constellations. I am the Constellation _Master_."

"Go on then. Impress me." She folded her arms. Kristoff tightened his grip.

Sometime later, after a fair amount of star gazing ("I have never heard of those. Are they _Troll_ constellations?"), Anna started complaining her legs had gone to sleep. Kristoff had to get down first, unless he wanted Anna climbing over him – not exactly objectionable, but a rooftop was _not_ the place for that –

"Don't you dare fall," he warned her. "Elsa will kill me."

"You'll be stripped of all ice and titles," she agreed, wobbling her way back along the crest of the roof whilst Kristoff watched, hands hovering. "Don't worry. I'm an expert at this."

Kristoff seriously doubted that.

She made it to the top of the barrels.

"Please don't jump."

"Catch!"

With a thump, she landed in his arms.

"You're the worst."

"Come on," she slipped down and grabbed his hand, hardly noticing the dust and general roof detritus clinging to her skirt.

It was very late when then got back to the castle. Anna kissed Kristoff good night.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"It's ok. You feel any better?"

She nodded. "Definitely."


	8. Shoot the Messenger

**Notes:**

Thank you, so so much, for all your feedback. Really. It absolutely means the world.  
Ambassador Perrault makes a bit of a come back in this chapter. He's rapidly becoming my favourite.  
Thanks for sticking with this series! X

* * *

The two letters arrived on an little silver tray.

Anna was still asleep – Gerda had spoken a quiet word in Elsa's ear about a nighttime excursion – and no doubt would be for some hours, and Kristoff, she assumed, was up already or was similarly comatose.

Elsa took the letters. She ran a cautious hand over the wax seal of the Southern Isles. Truly, all that mattered to her was that Hans was far from Arendelle and her sister was safe – but she was anxious as to whether her word would be taken for truth. Even with the support of Ambassador Perrault, would they believe her?

She decisively slit open the first letter – from Ambassador Perrault – and unfolded the contents. It was disappointingly short, but she couldn't help but hear the words in his accent.

 _Queen Elsa –_

 _I hope this letter finds you and your sister in good health._

 _It is with a heavy heart that I must be the bearer of bad news._

 _Perhaps we should have foreseen difficulties with the Westergards – it seems not everything will be as straightforward with Hans' castigation as we had hoped. I send this with a letter from her majesty Queen Agnes, which should contain further details._

 _I must return to France – but my thoughts remain in Arendelle. If there is any more I can do to help – be it return to you, the Southern Isles, or bring the full fury of the French navy to strengthen your cause – but give command, and it is done._

 _Yours always,_

 _Émile_

Elsa felt slightly sick as she opened the second letter with very slightly shaking hands.

 _To her Royal Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle –_

 _I thank you for your letter. It was most informative._

 _I am afraid you have put us in a very difficult position. I, personally, am unsurprised by your account of Prince Hans' behaviour. I counselled my husband against sending him to represent The Southern Isles at your coronation, but he would not be swayed. He seemed to feel Hans needed the chance to prove himself._

 _However, you will appreciate that Hans himself does not agree with your version of events. He stoically maintains that you have used your powers of sorcery to hold your sister, the French Ambassador and indeed the whole of Arendelle under some misapprehension of your motives and intentions. Having never made the pleasure of your acquaintance, I cannot possibly judge either way – though it is worth noting that I fail to see how a control of ice and snow lends itself to mind control._

 _Hans maintains that he loves your sister and that their engagement was never formally broken off. My husband was very attached to Hans' mother – who sadly passed away at Hans' birth – and as such, has a tendency to turn a blind eye to many of his son's indiscretions. I fear it may be hard to persuade him from his current course of allowing Hans to press the engagement._

 _I will endeavour to prevent Hans contacting your sister, though I can make no guarantee. I believe you – though my husband may be harder to convince. Leave this matter with me – I will keep you informed._

 _Yours in sincerity,_

 _Queen Agnes of the Southern Isles_

Elsa put down the letter. This was worse – so much worse – than she could have imagined.

At best, she'd imagined Hans would be disowned, and at worst he'd not be punished at all – but in either situation, they would never see or hear from him again.

And the thought that Hans – after all he had done – could claim to _love_ Anna, could claim that she, Elsa, held Arendelle under some kind of manipulative spell –

How would she explain this to her sister?

Briefly, Elsa considered hiding the whole matter – she could tell Anna the letter had not yet arrived, that it must have been delayed –

Then she checked herself. No more secrecy. No more lies.

"Anna."

"Mmm."

"Anna, wake up."

Anna seemed to sink further into her blankets as she mumbled something about late nights.

Elsa sighed.

"Anna, please get up. I need to talk to you."

Heavy lids peeked open. "'bout what?"

Elsa sighed again. This was not going to be an easy conversation.

"I heard back from Ambassador Perrault. About Hans."

Anna moaned and pulled the covers over her head. "Now?"

"I think so."

Anna did not emerge.

"I had a dream about him."

Elsa sat on the side of the bed and gently pulled back the covers from her sister's face. Big eyes and furrowed brows.

"What happened?"

Anna made a face. "He came out of the fjord."

"That's creepy."

"Yeah. Like a sea monster. Then Kristoff attacked him with a giant sundae spoon. But every time he hit him, he multiplied and there was a whole _army_ of Hans."

"Anna, you're crazy." Elsa tried not to chuckle and leaned forward to kiss her sister on the forehead. "You think I would ever let an army of Hanses get through to you?" She smiled; hesitated; faded to a look of worry. "Anna, the letter doesn't bring us good news."

Anna sat up. "What?"

"I think you should probably read it yourself."

"With breakfast?"

"With breakfast."

With tea, bacon and toast in her belly, Anna felt more ready to take on the news from Ambassador Perrault.

As she read, her grimace became a frown, her frown a scowl and by the time she finished the second letter, she looked up at Elsa with a face like thunder.

"'Mind control'. This is a new low, even for Hans."

Not making eye contact, Elsa picked apart a pastry without eating any of it. "Anna. Is there any chance Hans is telling the truth about what he thinks? That he really does believe I'm… controlling you all?"

Anna shook her head without hesitation. "No way. He's a liar. He told me, he told me _everything_ when we got back, I heard him!"

Elsa nodded slowly, still not looking at Anna.

"He's going to try to write to me, I see," she said lightly. "That should be fun."

"You don't have to read it." Elsa said firmly. "You don't have to be involved in this."

"Elsa, I'm already involved. This is ninety-eight-percent my fault. I've got see it out."

She made no response.


	9. Making a Scene

**Notes:**

As ever, thank you for you ludicrously kind feedback.

I felt like there was a bit of confusion about what Hans was up to last chapter - so this chapter has got a bit of schemey-schemey thought process stuff to flesh that out a bit.

I'm going to be on holiday next week (Cuba!) so I won't be updating - I'll spam a few chapters this weekend to make up for it.

BFM x

* * *

Anna twirled a lock of hair around her finger absent-mindedly, watching the architect – Master Haugen – have stern words with the team of stone masons. She had a pencil behind her ear and a pile of notes clutched in her arms. Olaf bounced beside her, tugging at her skirt to ask what some of the architect's words meant. Anna answered best she could, but she was very quiet and hardly taking in a word of what Master Haugen was actually saying to the assembled workmen about the construction of the Children's Home.

Haugen, on the other hand, was rather grateful for this unusual respite. He had truly appreciated the Queen's wonderfully succinct and clear manner – her sister's enthusiastic barrage of questions and random tangents into lengthy anecdotes were another matter.

"Any questions about the plans?"

There were shrugs and shaken heads from the workmen.

"Excellent. Get to work."

The workers dispersed.

Haugen cautiously approached the princess.

"My lady?"

Anna jumped. "Oh, hi, sorry, Master Haugen. Everything ok?"

"Yes, my lady. The masons have just been put to work. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"What's a foundation?"

Haugen blinked down at the little snowman. He wasn't sure whether to address his answer to Anna or her… companion.

"A foundation is the very bottom bit of the wall, Olaf," Anna explained patiently. "And, no, thank you, Master Haugen. That's everything. Thank you so much for your help today."

He bowed and left as quickly as strolling would allow.

Anna sighed. There must be more she could do.

"Hey."

Haugen and the workers clearly had it all under control but maybe she could be a foreman, or something? Maybe a morale-booster?

"Anna?"

Or maybe more canvassing. Promoting the existence of the children's home would mean it would be used – as well as show that Elsa was helping improve Arendelle for everyone.

"Um, Anna?"

Or maybe see if Elsa needed any help back at the castle. She chewed the end of her pencil distractedly.

"Anna?"

Kristoff appeared in front of her. She jumped.

"Kristoff! Hi!"

"You ok? I said hi about three times."

"Anna's kinda distracted today," Olaf explained helpfully.

"Sorry. In a whole other world." Anna smiled. "What're you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I finished at the guild for the day, and I thought I might find you here."

"Oh. Of course. Great."

Kristoff thought he heard something slightly strained in her tone – but he could just be imagining it. He looked at the workers, calling to each other, layering brick and mortar. Humorously: "I still can't believe you've actually organised this."

Anna felt a dull irritation. "You sound like Elsa. I'm not _completely_ useless."

"I never said you were." Slightly taken aback by her defensive tone, he gently nudged her arm. "It looks great, Anna."

"Thank you. Hopefully."She replied, again slightly vacant, staring unseeingly at the bricklayers.

They stood quietly for a second.

Kristoff had an idea what might be distracting her.

"Is – did Elsa get her letter about Hans?"

Anna looked up at him in alarm.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean – she did, but – yes."

She looked back to the bricklayers.

Kristoff was confused.

He rubbed the back of his head. He was very conscious of Olaf, staring up, his eyes switching between the two of them.

"Everything ok?"

"Everything's fine." She said it too quickly. "I mean – there's _stuff_ , but – don't worry about it."

Olaf went to speak but Anna silenced him with a stern look.

Kristoff frowned.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. It's nothing." She almost shook herself and smiled up at him too broadly. "I think I'm pretty much done here for the day – shall we – let's do something."

"Ok." He hesitated. Maybe – there was more going on. He could tell. But she didn't want to talk about it, and Olaf was there, third-wheeling like nobody's business, and – "Listen, um, it's ok, I've got loads of stuff to do if you – "

"Oh – of course, sorry, I don't want to get in the way, or – "

"Nonono, you're never in the way, but, um, you don't have to – "

"Oh, no, really – unless you don't want to – I'd love to do something."

She smiled. Tried to push worries and thoughts that weren't him from her head.

"Ok then. Lead the way."

* * *

That evening Kristoff walked Anna to the castle, but did not stay for dinner.

When he got to the stables to collect Sven, he briefly put his forehead to the post of the stall.

What the hell was going on?

"Hey you. We're not staying here tonight. Come on."

Sven looked dismayed.

"Don't give me that. We're going to the guildhouse."

Sven, who had become all too comfortable in his habitual royal stall, made a great show of getting to his feet and following Kristoff to the door.

 _"_ _Why can't we stay at the castle?"_

"Because. Anna needs some space."

Sven's ears sat asymmetrically in confusion.

"I know. I'm not really sure what's going on either."

They trudged out the Gates and began the long journey across the Great Road. Though it was almost eight o'clock, the sun showed only slight signs of familiarity with the horizon. The lazy light glanced off the fjord.

"Elsa got a letter about Hans. I don't know what it said, but Anna's been acting weird all afternoon."

 _"_ _What do you mean weird?"_

"That," Kristoff replied to himself, "is a good question."

Sven turned his huge brown eyes to the frowning man beside him, clearly awaiting an answer.

"You know how she's so… bouncy?"

This was not the right word, but Sven knew what he meant. Anna moved without thought, careless and clumsy, but with a kind of momentum and fluidity.

Kristoff struggled to assemble his thoughts. _Words_.

"She wasn't today. She was kind of… tense."

 _"_ _She's allowed to be tense!"_

"I know. But I just get the feeling it's to do with this letter. I don't know." Kristoff shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it."

 _"_ _But you should talk about it!"_

Kristoff glared. "You are not helpful."

Sven nudged him with an imperative nose.

"I know, I know. I'm just worrying over nothing is all. Probably."

Sven stuck his snuffley nose in Kristoff's ear and licked his face with a long, abrasive tongue and an unending capacity for affection. Kristoff wrinkled his own nose and gave him a shove.

"Get off. Come on," he grabbed the reindeer's horns as Sven dived in again for an ear lick, "You're making a scene. I can't take you anywhere…"

Several scenes and a fair amount of antler-wrestling later, they got to the guildhouse. Sven lay like a martyr in the hay – earning him an eye-rolling – and Kristoff got some food. Once plonked in front of him however, it remained untouched as he stared at the blank boards of the wall, frowning.

Sven was right and he should talk about it – but how did a conversation like that even go?

 _Hey Anna, you moved funny today. Are you all right?_

Yeah, probably not the best approach.

Kristoff was a man of instinct. But he was also a man of facts. You had a gut instinct about whether you could scale that particular mountain, but you needed the facts to be safe: the weather, how much rope you had, the strength of your pickaxes…

His gut told him Hans was bad news. But the facts were more complicated. The only conclusion he'd really been able to draw was that Hans and Anna were – weird.

He pushed some food about his plate, thinking.

He tried to fit the facts into some kind of shape.

 _They were engaged._

Right. Ok. But after knowing each other, what, a day? Anna was reckless – impulsive, idealistic, _irresponsible_ – so in a way, the engagement didn't mean a thing. That was Anna all over. Right?

 _She thought it was true love._

Ok, well that was something. How powerful was the idea of love? Did it lose its power when the tools of illusion were revealed?

 _He left Anna to die. He tried to kill Elsa._

He was cruel – unusually cruel. People were always out to cheat you, but that kind of manipulation – it was worse than just trying to overcharge you for mountaineering tools or sabotage the quality of your ice delivery. When he was little, Kristoff had been kicked out of a fair few barns and taken a fair beatings from other street kids over scraps of food, but none of them had ever pretended they had anything other than feelings of contempt for him. It would be like… it would be the Trolls taking him in only to… turn him into soup, or something.

Kristoff wasn't great at metaphors.

Hans had told Anna he had never loved her. And that had to hurt. A lot.

But how much?

Kristoff finally began picking at his food.

 _He has – ten? Thirteen? – older brothers. He's a prince._

That didn't really mean much. Kristoff had way more brothers than that – adoptively speaking. Being a prince just elevated Hans' jerk-dom to a more elite level.

He'd abused a position of power though, and Kristoff – having only ever worked for himself, and having lived his whole life indebted to random acts of kindness from those more fortunate than him – felt his blood boil at this.

He angrily stabbed at his food for a bit, trying to just focus on the facts.

 _Anna came to find_ me _on the fjord. Anna kissed_ me _. Anna asked_ me _to say._

Elsa had dug up some ancient old guildmaster title so he could stay, for crying out loud – that had to mean something, right?

 _Maybe she did love Hans. Does love Hans._

 _Did you think of that?_

This thought rose unbidden to his mind, and once there, he couldn't shake it.

Just because neither he nor Elsa nor… anyone that he could think of had ever experienced love at first sight – did that mean it didn't exist?

 _But she came looking for you –_

But she came back to _him_.

Kristoff was a simple man, of simple means – and not for the first time, he wondered how his life had got so suddenly complicated.

* * *

Hans would be lying if he said he hadn't constructed at least a vague form of this plan on that sickening, buffeting sail from Arendelle.

But honestly, he hadn't imagined it would go so well. He'd envisioned a sliver of understanding – at a push some compassion. It'd been more of a last ditch attempt to avoid being disowned or imprisoned, than a viable get-out card.

But here he was, in his own chambers, in his own clothes, clean, calm, still completely uncharged and casting confusion over the entire royal household.

He couldn't have planned it better.

Hans stretched leisurely and pondered the blank page before him.

He had to be sure to keep all the facts straight. There could be no slip-ups here.

Casting doubt on Elsa's word had been easy: magic was, overwhelmingly, something to be afraid of, and those who wielded it were not to be trusted. Now the seed had been sown, he was sure it would take root and nothing she said would be taken at face value – including her flat-out rejection of the engagement.

To add to that, it was honestly just too convenient that he and Anna had been alone when he'd revealed his motivations. She was the only witness and – honestly – she was vacuous at best. Scatty, impressionable, foolish – how hard would it be to convince people she'd dreamt the whole thing? How hard would it be to convince _her?_

Easy.

Hans considered for a moment before dipping his quill and penning his next construct.


	10. Digression

There was a knock on the open door. Elsa looked up. Her sister – all anxious bobbing and fiddling with plaits – hovered there.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You ok?"

It was two days since the letter had arrived. One since Kristoff had retreated into the mountains again. Both Elsa and Anna had been busy, and had only really seen each other briefly at dinner. There, conversation had been polite and safe: they discussed the ongoing building works, a new book Anna had started reading – _Ivanhoe_ – and the new staff at the castle.

Elsa had not pushed anything – she was terrified to pry, afraid she might just end up shutting Anna out more.

And besides, Anna would come to her when she was ready. This was the girl who had spent almost eight years of her life knocking at a closed door.

And now, her sister's hesitant manner and absent-minded twirl of the hair was a dead giveaway: she was ready.

"Oh, sure," Anna replied, practically bouncing from foot to foot. "How are you? What are you up to?"

Elsa put down her quill and stretched out her legs to push out the chair opposite. Anna obligingly sat. "I'm actually just politely declining some suitors."

Anna's whole manner changed.

"You're what?!"

Elsa's mouth twitched.

"The last few days I've been inundated with letters from various eager princes and nobles. Apparently ice powers are all the rage among eligible young bachelors."

Anna giggled in a very unladylike manner.

"You should invite some!"

Elsa deadpanned, and Anna's giggle became a fully-fledged snort of laughter.

"I'm serious!"

Elsa grinned at her. "I'll give it a miss."

"Ahh, that's a shame. We could have had a party! But, you know – one that doesn't end like the last one."

Anna had developed this habit of referencing her sister's flight from the party in a very casual way. It was becoming a thing of teasing, and not a source of fear. She'd even started referring to it as 'Elsa's French Leave'.

"How's Kristoff finding the new job? He gave me the first monthly review a few weeks ago, but he can be quite taciturn."

Anna tried out this new word. She rather liked it.

"Good, I think. Did he tell you about the new apprentice thing he's working on?"

Elsa smiled. "He did."

"It sounds amazing," Anna enthused. "Is it something that all the guilds have? I mean, it totally should be, but – ohh, it could work with my _Children's Home_!"

Elsa pondered this. It wasn't half a bad idea.

"Do you want to talk to some of the guilds about that?"

Anna nodded enthusiastically.

Despite a few slip-ups – mainly involving forgotten documents and over-ambitious timescales – Anna was actually doing incredibly well with all this new-found responsibility. Elsa felt… proud. Really, really proud.

"You're doing great, Anna. I'm so sorry I ever doubted you."

Anna flipped back her plaits in mock-modesty. "Well, you know. I try."

"You know… as well as all the letters from suitors, we've got some invitations here too."

Intrigued, Anna shuffled forward.

"The prince of Andorra is turning eighteen, and there's a Christening in Corona. I'm trying to decide who would be best to send to represent Arendelle. I think Lord Eirik would be best suited to Andorra – but I know Lord Hugo is looking for an opportunity to prove himself. What do you think?"

So wrapped in thought, Elsa did not immediately notice that her sister's eyes had grown as wide as saucers.

A thousand doors flew open in Anna's mind.

"Could _I_ go?"

Elsa stared at her for a second.

"Absolutely not."

Her face fell.

"Why not?"

"Well for a start, if you think I'm letting you out of my sight for more than a day – "

"Oh come on, Elsa, I'll be fine – haven't I shown you that I can be trusted with responsibility?"

"Anna, _no_. It is too dangerous – "

"Anna yes! Come on Elsa, how could it be dangerous? It's just – "

"Anna, I said no."

" – just a bunch of nobles shaking hands and dancing! And I've never been out of Arendelle before, and – "

"No, Anna!"

"I promise, I won't come back with a – a string of fiancées or anything this time – if that's what you're worried about – "

"Anna, you are _not getting on a ship_!"

Elsa hadn't realised she shouted, nor that she'd stood up. Ice splintered from under her palms and across the desk and the temperature of the room dropped so her unusually heavy breath hung like puffs of smoke before her.

She sank back into her seat, horrified.

"Anna – "

But her sister finally thought things through and stood, without thought, trotting round the desk to embrace her sister from behind. Her arms folded across her chest and her ear was on her cheek. Elsa – still unused to this unsolicited human touch – flinched very slightly. Anna did not notice, but squeezed her sister and inhaled deeply. Elsa's skin was cold – always cold – but she smelt of the open air.

They didn't need to say a word, really. But Anna did anyway.

"Elsa, I would really, really love to. But I understand – I mean, I hadn't thought, but – if you really don't want me to, I don't have to. Will you… at least think about it?"

Elsa put a hand on her sister's arm and gripped it tightly, eyes squeezed shut.

She knew she was being over-cautious – over-protective – storms weren't commonplace –

"I'll think about it."

Anna decided not to press the matter any further – but in the flurry, they still hadn't spoken about Hans.

* * *

Kristoff went to see the Trolls.

He was on his way back – he'd been gone just under a week, throwing himself into the sawing and cutting and climbing with even more fervour than usual. He felt the burn in his arms and the ache in his back with a kind of savage release, and had collected about a third more ice than usual.

Sven was unimpressed with this, but kept his complaining to a minimum: Kristoff was brooding and quiet and it would not do to exacerbate this.

When they reached the Valley of the Living Rock, fielding the usual raucous welcome with unusually short answers, Grandpabbie muttered some strange words in a foreign tongue to stop the ice defrosting and waved them over.

"Kristoff. You carry sadness with you."

He shrugged this off. "I'm fine. Do I need an excuse to see my family?"

Bulda cuffed him round the ear. "Don't you lie to your Grandpabbie, Kristoff."

"Oww!" He scowled, rubbing the side of his head. " _Mum_."

"You come for advice."

"I come for a hot meal and good company. Ok!" He cringed a little as his mother raised a threatening eyebrow. For a two-foot moss-wearing Troll, she could be formidable. "Also for advice."

Grandpabbie nodded and for a while, the matter was dropped.

Kristoff was given a bowl of steaming stew and when that was finished, was mobbed by a small group of young Trolls.

"Kristoff! Play hide and seek with me!"

"And me!"

"Me first!"

"Ok, ok," his littlest sister bounced up and down beside him, glaring at her Troll brothers. "We'll all play hide and seek. How's that?"

"Ok, you seek! Count to twenty!" They rolled away in an explosion of giggles and bickering.

Kristoff obligingly closed his eyes. "One, two…"

When they had all been found, his favourite aunt captured him from another round to help mince mushrooms for dinner.

"So, Kristoff, how is life as a guildmaster?"

"Did Grandpabbie tell you that?"

"Of course."

"It's not bad." Kristoff shrugged. "Pretty good, actually. Although – " He hesitated. "Aunt Ora? Do you know how to read? Not runes – Norwegian."

She shook her head sadly. "I never learned, Kristoff. Though Rockwell knows a bit – and Grandpabbie, of course. Why do you ask?"

Kristoff shrugged. "I've realised it would be handy to know more than I do. I'm trying to teach myself, but – "

"Why don't you ask that girl of yours to teach you?"

Kristoff shook his head vigorously. "Definitely not."

"Well, I'm sure she'd be happy to help!"

"Nonono. Definitely not."

Grandpabbie finally beckoned him over to his spot by the fire.

"Kristoff. I cannot give you the advice you seek."

 _What?_ Grandpabbie _always_ had sage words to offer. "Why not?"

"The heart is not so easily changed."

Kristoff was unimpressed.

"I don't want anybody's heart to _change_ , I just don't know – "

"Kristoff, listen to me," Grandpabbie folded his grandson's hand in his own weathered palms. "To make bad choices is the easiest thing of all. But to see the error of our ways – "

" _Whose_ bad choices?"

"I cannot say. But _love_ Kristoff – love will thaw."

"Be like the rock! Be a rock!" A cacophony of voices chipped in –

Grandpabbie smiled and sat back, staring into the fire.

Kristoff's mouth hung open very slightly, his brow furrowed. "That… I don't understand _any_ of that. Are you saying that Anna _does_ love Hans? Or – "

"Oh, no, Kristoff. Only that _love_ brings out the best!"

Kristoff let out a growl of exasperation and buried his face in his hands.


	11. Rumbled

**Notes:**

Sorry for such a huge wait between updates - I was on holiday, and when I got back was feeling pretty negative about the current structure of this story. I'm a stickler for very deliberate structural choices and I felt that this fic wasn't delivering.

As such, I've been doing a fair amount of planning, re-organising and decision-making about various arcs. Hopefully, there should start to be more drive and neatness to the next few sections of this story.

To make up for the long absence, I'm going to spam a fair few chapters today and tomorrow!

Thanks for sticking with this story - hopefully, the structure hasn't been bugging you as much as it has me. Any feedback about this would be super appreciated.

BFM x

* * *

Elsa – and Anna, though more sporadically so – was fascinated by the repairs to the castle. Her whole life, the castle had been like some great immovable mountain. It was immutable; impregnable. Nothing could shake it.

The way it had so easily crumbled under her magic was a culture shock to say the least.

Master Haugen had completely redesigned the replacement sections, and explained its intricacies to a slightly open-mouthed Elsa and Olaf.

He gesticulated broadly with a sweeping hand towards a very complex-looking section of interlacing brickwork. "As you can see your majesty, we have been able to drastically reduce the amount of wood used in construction and introduce a number of expansion joints. As previously discussed, I am confident this will allow the design to withstand extreme temperature change far better than the previous – these new sections will be less susceptible to deformation."

"Amazing," Elsa murmured, striding forward to examine the brick more carefully. Olaf hopped after her. "This is excellent, Master Haugen. I offer you my sincere thanks."

Without waiting for a response, and with only the slightest hesitation, Elsa sent a sweep of ice into the wall. The bricks frosted over, smoking like dry ice against the warm temperature of the air, crystals skittered and scattered over their faces and between Haugen's painstakingly detailed patterns. She listened carefully for any sound of creaking or cracking in the structure. She could hear Haugen hold his breath and Olaf gasp in wonder.

There were no ominous sounds from the wall. Elsa pushed harder, willing the temperature of the brick to drop further – and expecting at any moment to hear groans, creaks, splinters –

But there was nothing.

She dropped the onslaught and allowed the warmth of joy flow from her and into the bricks. Haugen breathed a sigh of relief.

His queen turned to him.

"Master Haugen, this is fantastic. You have achieved what I actually thought was impossible. Thank you." She smiled, widely, and inclined her head to him. Olaf copied her.

Haugen bowed low in response. "It was my pleasure, your majesty. It has been quite a while since I had such a challenge, and I am honoured to have been of service. May I show you the completed work on the dungeon also?"

"I would love that."

* * *

The town hall was a low, squat building that looked out of place among the multi-tiered, pointed aesthetic of Arendelle. It had been painted bright blue at some point, in an attempt to help it blend in – but even that could hardly disguise the fact that it was much, much older than most of the other buildings. That said, it was bustling – always populated with people coming and going like honey bees.

This morning, it was host to one of Anna's 'creative and constructive enrichment activities' – a music group for kids. They sang, learnt instruments and generally soaked up an atmosphere they never otherwise would.

"Come on, Sofia, it'll be fine! Frue Mona is nice, I promise."

The little girl shook her head.

"I know you don't know anyone yet – but you know me, and I always say that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet."

Another head shake.

"Hey, listen," Anna crouched down before her, seized with a sudden idea. "What if I come sit next to you? I don't know the tune either, so we can both learn it together. Then you won't be the only one. How does that sound?"

It was Sofia's first time at the choir. Her father had dropped her off (the other, unofficial function of Anna's enrichment activities was free child care. Not that Anna minded: if it meant both the children's parents could work and the family could more easily put food on the table, there was no problem). Sofia was incredibly shy, but wearing her best dress. At Anna's words, she peeked through her fingers and nodded.

"Come on then," Anna took her little hand. "Let's get a good seat."

* * *

It was almost noon when Kristoff arrived at the guildhall.

Hauling his blocks into the icehouse and collecting his payment ("North and south, Bjorgman, how much ice did you bring me this time?") he hesitated – then walked Sven to the guildhouse stables.

"Right Sven – I'm going to see Elsa. You get some rest and I'll be back later, ok?"

And he found himself traversing the castle's corridors without getting lost once.

Elsa was in her study. When he knocked on the open door, she looked up from the chess board before her.

"Kristoff!" She stood, and smiled, and gestured for him to come in. He did.

"Elsa. I thought I'd – I just got back from the ice fields."

Her hands were folded before her and though she was wearing one of those peculiarly icy dresses, and smiling with a genuine warmth, something about her was even more tightly wound than usual.

"It's good to see you back. How was your trip?"

"Great, thank you. Are you – playing chess with yourself?"

Elsa glanced back at the board and smiled sheepishly, like a child caught with the jam jar. "Yeah. It was my father's. Anna doesn't really play – Olaf gets over-excited and names all the pawns – and it would seem nobles always lose on purpose."

Kristoff grinned slightly. "That makes sense."

"Should I – call for some tea or anything?"

"I'm good. Thanks. How has – everything been here?"

Elsa shrugged. She sat down, and gestured for Kristoff to do the same. He sat on that sofa that so often Elsa saw occupied by Anna and a book.

"Things have been quiet here, actually. Anna's been quite… she misses you when you're not here."

Kristoff rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He'd spent the past week trying to convince himself that Anna needed space, and whatever she decided – whatever that letter had said – he'd accept it.

"She's been quite… you know. With the news about Hans."

He cleared his throat. "I don't… What happened? With Hans? Anna didn't say," he apologised. "It's none of my business, but – "

Elsa was surprised. "She didn't say?"

"No." Kristoff was beginning to wish he'd never raised the subject. Any second, Elsa was going to demand he leave the castle, forbid him to ever see Anna again, strip him of Guildmaster status for his impertinence –

"All the letter says it that Hans is… well, not yet receiving the kind of punishment we'd hoped for. He's maintaining that he loves Anna – " she made a face – "And that I am holding Arendelle and everyone in it under some kind of spell. Manipulating people against him."

Kristoff looked faintly disgusted. "And they're buying that?"

"It would seem so. His step-mother isn't – but his father most certainly is." Elsa sighed heavily. "He might try to write to Anna."

"But Anna said – he told her all those things – I remember her saying over dinner."

"So do I. And I'm sure she's strong enough to ignore whatever he says – but, you know. It's _convenient_ they were the only two to hear what he said first hand." She moved restlessly. "I worry. He's very charming, according to Ambassador Perrault, and when I spoke to him in the dungeons – he's very persuasive. And it's… understandably upsetting for her."

Kristoff nodded.

"What a jerk."

Elsa nodded grimly. "You can say that again. She hasn't said anything about it to me. Has she to you?"

Kristoff made a strange, jolting movement with his head. "No. I didn't want to – I don't think she – I don't want her to – "

Elsa nodded; understood. "Me neither."

Quiet.

Kristoff hesitated. He seemed on the verge of asking something – but thought better of it. Elsa could tell questions bubbled within him.

She considered for a moment. Hesitating for a fraction of a second, she walked to her desk and retrieved the letter from Hans' mother (it hadn't been more than five feet from her since it arrived – she'd read it over and over and over).

When she turned around, Kristoff had scrambled to his feet. She held out the letter.

"Here. Obviously it's not something I want shared with the general public, but – I trust you Kristoff. And actually…" It still killed her to ask for support. From anyone. "I could use your advice about it."

To her surprise, Kristoff looked down and away.

"Oh – no, it's ok, I don't think – "

"Kristoff, please. Objective third parties are always welcome. Especially third parties as down-to-earth as you."

He was fidgeting.

"Who's this letter from?"

"Queen Agnes of the Southern Isles."

Yeah… he wouldn't be able to read that.

Kristoff silently cursed.

Missing this inner catastrophising, Elsa handed him the letter. He tried not to melt into the floor and looked at the first line.

There were a few of the words he could read – _to_ , _her_ , _Elsa_ , _of_ , _Arendelle_ – good enough. Next.

 _I thank you for your letter. It was most_

Still ok. He had the gist. Next.

 _I am… you have put us in a… I… am… by… your… of… I… my… send-ing him to…_

Even scanning through there were very, very few words that weren't pronouns or very phonetic verbs that he could read. And none of them were particularly helpful.

He tipped his head back and looked up, one hand clutching the letter and the other balled at his side. He took a breath.

"I can't read this."

Elsa was confused – and not entirely sure what he meant, or why he wouldn't meet her eye. "What do you mean?"

"I… can't read this. I can read. Obviously, I can read, but – not _these_ words, they're – big – "

Perhaps he could change his name, grow a beard and disappear into the mountains, and this would never be spoken of again.

"You can't… read?"

"I _can_ read," he flushed furiously. "Just not… very well. Basic stuff. I can read runes great," he added rather lamely. "Trolls are… big on runes."

He waited to be laughed out of the castle. God, this was _not_ where he belonged –

"Kristoff, you should have said," Elsa looked at the man before her who stared determinedly at the opposite wall, who, for all his bulk, shame had cowed into a child – and she felt a warmth rise within her. A kind of… solidarity. For the past thirteen years, shame had been her constant companion. "It's all right, Kristoff."

He suddenly looked at her and blinked.

"Though, do you not need… how did you write those reports for me last month?"

"I can write well enough to keep track of exports," he mumbled. "And I'm teaching myself reading. But there's a guy at the guildhouse who writes. I just… told him what to put."

"And the job description? I'm so sorry, I didn't think – I should have had someone read it to you – "

"Anna did," he was still mumbling. "But she doesn't know – please, your majesty, she can't know – "

"Just Elsa, please. Kristoff, you know she'd jump at the chance to teach you something," the queen laughed. "I can almost hear her enthusiasm already!"

"Nonono, please," he looked at her, face and form still holding the vestiges of humiliation. "She can't know. She'd think I'm…" He trailed off.

Without thinking, really, Elsa leaned forward and placed a hand on his forearm.

He was a man of few words: he understood. He thanked her with a smile of sheepish relief.

"Do you play chess, Kristoff?"

He looked up in surprise. "Er – no. Not really. I never learnt that either."

And Elsa rose, beckoning him over to the board. "I'm going to teach you."


	12. Square Pegs

**Notes:**

There's a fair amount of ice harvesting trivia in this chapter - for those who are history nerds like me, all the details about the trade included in this chapter are, I believe, historically accurate.

* * *

Anna was halfway through a mouthful of toast when the letter arrived. Olaf ran over, leapt up into her lap and threw his little stick arms around her. Snowflakes from his personal flurry peppered her hair.

"It's ok, Anna!"

She found it impossible to be irritated when he had such pure intentions. "Thanks, Olaf."

Picking up her tea, she slid the unopened letter under it like a coaster. The cup's dark ring bled carelessly into the envelope and rendered it unimportant.

Elsa noticed – though said nothing – that Anna did not, as she had hoped, tear the letter in two or tell the servant to return to sender.

"It was nice to see Kristoff back from the mountains yesterday. I've started teaching him chess."

Hoping to change the subject, Elsa's eyes grew wide when her sister looked up in alarm.

"Kristoff's back?"

"Sure, he got back yesterday – "

Anna was halfway out of her chair with indignation, depositing Olaf back on the floor, stuffing the remainder of toast in her mouth –

Elsa was confused.

"Did he not – did he not come see you?"

"No!" For a moment, still indignant – then something seemed to settle heavy on her. She sank back into her chair. "No, he – he didn't. Why wouldn't he come see me?"

Elsa had a shrewd idea why that might be.

"Go see him," she smiled, nudging her sister with her foot under the table. "He's probably in the guildhouse. I think he just feels awkward about the whole – Hans thing." She nodded towards the letter-coaster.

Anna nodded slightly vacantly, worrying a strand of hair and clearly ravelled up in thought.

"Anna?"

"Hmm, oh, sure," a brilliant grin that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sure, I'll go find him. I think I know where the guildhouse is now," she dropped the strand of hair, took another slice of toast and began chattering at top speed. "I think I've pretty much got the layout of the town down now, I can find the bakers and Frue Anja's and I can always find the waterfront…"

"Anna. Go see him. I think he – he'll want to see you." She smiled.

When her sister left, still chattering, throwing conversation at all and every servant she passed, re-plaiting her hair and checking her reflection in windows, Elsa noticed that the letter-turned-coaster was gone.

"Elsa?"

"Olaf."

"Are you ok?"

She smiled at him, and conjured up a snowball that ran circles around his head before weaving off about the dining room. Olaf gasped, totally consumed by its taunting patterns, and ran after it, arms outstretched.

* * *

Anna stuffed the half-forgotten letter into her pocket as she pushed open the door to the Ice Harvesters' Guildhouse.

There was a large, open area immediately inside – its ceiling was the roof's rafters – but about halfway up, running the full perimeter of this entrance hall was a balcony. Burly men wandered up and down, making exchanges, laughing, shouting. There were doors everywhere – but where they went, she had no idea. The entire place had a very 'manly' kind of smell.

Anna hesitated, then walked over to what she thought might be some kind of reception: a squat, scrubbed table before a burly looking man who had a low brow and oddly stiff blonde hair.

"Um, excuse me?"

The man looked up. Recognition flitted across his face and he scrambled to his feet making a strange movement Anna could only assume was meant to be a bow.

"My lady! Wh – can I help you?"

Anna smiled. "Hi. Um, I'm looking for the Guildmaster? Kristoff? Is he around?"

The man couldn't fumble through his papers quick enough. He ran his finger down a list, clicking his tongue slightly.

" – yes, m'lady. He'll be in the icehouse, or upstairs."

"Ok – great, thanks!" She hesitated for a second. "Where is that?"

The man scanned the room.

"Excuse me, m'lady. _Oi!_ _Raske!_ "

The last part was shouted, and Anna leapt about a mile in surprise.

There was another shout in response. "What?"

"Free?"

"Why?"

"Princess. To see Bjorgman!"

The man called Raske raised his eyebrows in surprise and trudged over with huge strides. He dipped into an awkward bow, but his head seemed to get left behind. Anna tried not to giggle.

"Y'majesty."

" _M'lady,_ " The first man hissed.

"My lady. This way?"

"Ok, great. Thank you."

Anna couldn't help but be utterly fascinated by the variety of life that passed by as Raske led her – somewhere. Everywhere, men with huge voices and musky aromas walked with purpose – there seemed to be no-one idle. She heard every snatch of conversation with fascination.

" – musta been fifty foot – "

" – a _quart_ of lutefisk?"

" – stronger than a _hundred_ – "

None of it made any sense to her. But her imagination roamed.

Raske eventually thought he should say something. He broke her reverie with a stab at politeness.

"You, er… what do you need with the guildmaster, my lady?"

"Oh, nothing really. He got back from the mountains and didn't tell me, which is unusual, you know? So I thought I'd come _find_ him –" the suggestion of a frown line. "He normally comes to see me straight away, so I – I just want to check everything's ok. I guess."

Raske nodded. He didn't know what to say to that really – and he wasn't sure why, on his return, Kristoff would go find the _princess_ , of all people.

They made their way down a very rough set of stone steps – down into the ground. With each step, the temperature dropped.

Anna had no concept of distance at all, but she counted forty-one steps and goosebumps shivered down her arms – they must have lost about five degrees on the walk down.

At the bottom of the stairs, there was a short, wide corridor with rough stone walls and the rumble of male voices. At the end of the corridor, the ground sunk into a steep slope and what looked like a large, open room. As they approached, Anna saw two men – one of whom was wearing a very familiar little bobble hat – and the glitter of the huge ice blocks they were surveying. Her heart leapt.

"…all these going to England?"

"Yeah – Grimsby."

"Bjor – "

"Kristoff!"

He spun around in surprise, and smiled.

"Hey!"

All she wanted to do was run at him, throw her arms around him in a hug that left her legs kicking in the air and laugh and kiss him and put his little hat onto her own head and grin like an idiot – but she couldn't. He hadn't come to see her. _Grumpy Anna._

The thought from that morning – that maybe, actually, he didn't want to see her – rose unbidden to her mind. She pushed it aside as best she could: he looked happy to see her, there was that rare smile that suited him so well – and then almost seemed to check himself, and became impassive.

"I mean, hey. You're how? I mean, how're you?"

He was all muddled again, like the first time they kissed.

 _Grumpy Anna._

"I'm ok. How're you? How were the mountains?"

"Oh, you know. Cold. I got – ice."

He waved a hand behind him. Cleared his throat. Realised that they still had company.

"Hey, um, Raske – thanks for showing the princess down here. And, Gus – can we finish tallying up the exports in a minute?"

Though both men looked from Anna to Kristoff and Kristoff to Anna in confusion, they took the hint and trudged out of the icehouse.

Kristoff turned back to her. "Sorry. Um – ice. Yeah." A beat. "Do you – "

"I just – "

They spoke at the same time; both stopped; both grinned a little sheepishly. Anna opened her mouth to speak, but at the same time, absent-mindedly rubbed her arms against the underground chill.

"Oh – are you cold?"

"A little."

He went to move towards her, but hesitated, stopped, pulled back, removed his hat and held it out. She went to take it.

"Sorry, what am I doing? This is the _icehouse_ – let's get you out of here."

He put the hat back on his own head and again made a strange motion as if to move towards her – but seemed to think better of it and with a cursory glance over the silent, shimmering ice blocks, led her around the side of the room. Anna tried not to be too disappointed.

She wished he would take her hand.

Up another slope and a set of stairs – Anna forgot to count – and they stood blinking in the late September light on the road outside the guildhall.

Kristoff took his hat off again and twisted it between his hands.

"You should probably – you've probably got stuff to do, and, uh – " he rubbed the back of his head – "I should probably go see Sven, or – "

"Oh – ok," Anna was crestfallen. "I guess – I mean, I'm not too busy today, really, Master Haugen – the architect – he's got the whole children's home thing totally under control, it's going great, I mean, really, _wow_ – you should come see it sometime – if you want to, I mean – um – "

"Sure. If you want. That'd be – yeah."

There was a pause.

 _Come on, Anna. Just knock._

"Elsa said you got back yesterday?"

Kristoff's eyes briefly met hers. He cleared his throat.

"I – yeah."

There was another pause.

"I, uh – I should probably go. I don't want to keep you, or – um. I'll – I'll see you later?" And he made a funny movement that almost looked like a bow before hurrying away, leaving Anna completely lost.


	13. Habits

**Notes:**

Quick refresher about Sven's dialogue - it's written completely in italics, and as separate speech from the person voicing him:

"This whole thing has ruined me for ever helping anyone ever again."

 _"But she'll die on her own!"_

"I can live with that."

Hopefully that should clarify any confusion at the end of this chapter!

X

* * *

The clock on the mantelpiece ticked. Faint sounds of the town and the lullaby of the fjord drifted in through the window.

"Don't rush. You're doing great."

She interjected as he frowned and paused, struggling to piece together the sounds and shapes.

"Break it into syllables. Think about the common letter patterns."

Kristoff nodded. His lips moved silently and, if it was possible, his frown deepened.

"Inha…bited?"

"You got it!"

He looked up, grinning broadly. "I got it?"

"You got it. Can you finish that sentence and summarise what we've read?"

"Umm… inhabited by fish of every – spec-ees?"

"Species. That's a weird one – the 'c' sounds like an 's'."

"Ok. Species. And fre-quen-ted by every f-ow-l whom nature has t-or-t to dip the wing in water." He stopped, and cleared his throat. "So, uh, it's describing what the valley looks like? It's in the middle of loads of mountains – kind of like Arendelle – but smaller – and the entrance is in a wood? And there are gates? And there's a huge lake. Actually also kind of like Arendelle."

"Great. Kristoff, you're doing great." Elsa stretched and smiled. "I can't believe how quick you're picking this up."

He grinned kind of sheepishly.

They were sat at Elsa's desk in her study, books and papers spread out between them. On one sheet were clusters of letters, grouped roughly into two columns. Above one – the vowel sounds – there was a very crude little drawing of a stickman swinging a pickaxe. Above the other – consonant blends – there was a little pickaxe hitting something which was supposed to be ice.

Kristoff pointed at these. "This is really helping. I always kind of – learnt by memory. You know, memorising whole words."

Elsa looked mildly surprised. "What? That's crazy."

He shrugged. "This makes much more sense. It's more like a process."

At that, Elsa couldn't help but grin; she found it very easy to grin around him. "Are my fantastic drawings helping?"

"They're the best bits."

She began to gather up the books and papers into a very neat, straight pile, which she transferred to a drawer on her desk. "Anna got most of the artistic talent, to be honest."

"Anna does art?"

"Well, did. I'm not sure if she does anymore…" she felt suddenly unsure, and a bad sister, and made a mental note to find out. "She used to stick drawings under my door when we were kids."

"That's sweet."

They both smiled for a second, and there was a comfortable pause.

Then their shared lack of people skills caught up.

"Well – thanks, Elsa."

He stood, and the scraping of the chair broke the quiet.

"You're welcome. Same time – Thursday?"

"Sure."

* * *

The sheen of horses' sweat and the bark of dogs. Thundering hooves and the shouts of men.

Crisp in riding boots and a red hunting jacket, Hans urged his horse forward.

The hunt was almost at an end. Soon enough, the dogs would run the fox down and flush it to the guns. Hans was hoping to cut off the brush as a trophy, to mark the day – he could scarcely believe he had persuaded his father to let him leave the castle and the informal house arrest his step mother had placed him under. Certainly, an achievement to be proud of.

And God, it was good to get out again. Stretch his legs, so to speak.

Anna had not yet replied to the first letter. This was not a problem – he had anticipated this – but it was time to send the next one. Build on the foundations.

One of the dogs let out a howl: they'd flushed the fox.

Hans smiled.

* * *

"Sven?"

Anna poked her head into the guildhouse stables. The air was heavy with the sound of horses stamping hooves, chewing hay, snorting. As she walked past the stalls she rubbed the noses of a few friendly mares.

A familiar cervine face appeared.

"Hey, Sven!"

Excited, he jumped up and down, wagging his tail, snuffling his muzzle right up against her ear

"You ok? I missed you too!" She scratched behind his antlers. "You have to tell Kristoff to stop avoiding me so I can see you more! I feel like a criminal, sneaking in here like this."

 _"_ _Kristoff's so grumpy at the moment. I'm not getting any carrots!"_

"Well, it's funny you should say that," With a cheeky grin, she produced a large carrot from her pocket. "Look what I brought you!"

There was a great deal more tail-wagging, and Sven took the offered carrot enthusiastically.

"I know. I spoil you," she grinned. "Don't tell Kristoff, ok?"

 _"_ _I promise."_

"Atta boy." Casting a quick look around, she leaned in a little closer. "Am I doing this right?"

Sven nodded, munching the carrot happily.

Satisfied, she returned to scratching behind his antlers. "So, why's Kristoff being so grumpy, huh?"

 _"_ _He's just a grumpy person!"_

"Sven, don't speak with your mouth full, that is _rude_. I feel like he's extra grumpy at the moment though," she bit her lip. "Is it something _I've_ done?"

Sven shook his head. Anna was surprised.

"Really?"

A carrot-y snuffle.

"Hmm. Then what is it? Is it work? I felt like I was bothering him when I came by the guild the other day. What do you think?"

 _"_ _Why don't you just ask him?"_

"Nonono. Don't be silly. You know how awkward he is."

Sven huffed: he did.

"I think he's been talking to Elsa quite a bit though. She said he'd been learning chess."

 _"_ _Chess?!"_

"I know. I always thought it was boring too. But it's nice they're getting on. I think she really likes him!"

A smile.

Sven nudged her.

"No way, we are not going to find him."

 _"_ _But you want to see him!"_

"Ah, but he doesn't want to see me."

Then she sighed, a strange mournful pang in her heart. She knew that feeling, She'd felt it almost every day growing up, every time her knock had gone unanswered.

"Oh Sven, I really miss him. I just wish I knew what was wrong."

Sven let out a soft whine and pushed his nose under her arm.


	14. All the World's a Stage

**Notes:**

I've had a lot of useful feedback on the past few chapters (especial thanks to NrDg) and I'll hopefully be trying to reflect that in the next few chapters. Apologies in advance for any typos - wrote the final section of this chapter this afternoon, and though I've proof read it a couple of times there might be a couple of mistakes.

BFM x

* * *

Joan of Arc's stare was so determined.

She was captured in a moment of movement and noise and valour – her sword raised, her shield ready, a tattered flag billowing behind her. Her free hand grasped the reins of her horse, which pounded forward, mid-turn, mane tossing, unafraid.

There were so many things Anna loved about this picture.

The way Joan seemed so in control of her horse was actually one of the things that had started off her love of riding. She remembered, she'd never been allowed out on her own – her papa and a train of servants always attended her – but she hadn't minded. She and her father would always race, see who could push their horse the fastest, who could make the quickest turns.

The wind in her hair. The hammering of her heart. The laughter of her father – that rare laughter – mingling with the pounding of the horses hooves.

He'd been less supportive of her interest in sword fighting. She could still remember how patiently her mother had sat her down, explained that whilst wooden swords were all well and good for make believe, she didn't have a chance of persuading her father to let her go anywhere near a real sword.

 _"_ _Anna, I can count one-two-three-four-_ five _new bruises since yesterday," she tickled her. "Real swords don't leave bruises, they leave cuts."_

 _Her father chipped in. "Not to mention that sword fighting is not for girls, Anna."_

 _"_ _Joan's a girl!"_

 _"_ _I know, Anna, but – Joan wasn't supposed to. You stick to your music and your drawing."_

"My lady?"

Anna jumped, jolted back to reality. She hoisted herself up onto her elbows and looked over her shoulder to the door of the portrait gallery. Kai stood there, a little silver tray balanced on one hand.

"My lady, there is a letter for you."

Anna felt her stomach drop. "Thank you, Kai." She sat up, and he walked over to deliver the letter with a slight bow. Anna toyed with the wax seal – the crest of the Southern Isles – for a moment, before pocketing the letter unopened.

"Is there anything I can get for you, my lady?"

Anna shook her head. "That's everything Kai, thanks. Though if you see Elsa, at all, could you – could you tell her that – that it'd be great to – see her at dinner."

Anna finished this sentence rather uncertainly, and Kai had a nagging feeling it wasn't what she had wanted to say at all.

"Of course, my lady."

Kai left to find Elsa (she had requested, some days earlier, that she be informed immediately if any letters were to arrive for Anna from the Southern Isles), and thought he might've heard a sigh as the princess flopped back down onto the sofa.

* * *

"Elsa?"

"Mm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Kristoff was halfway through writing out an account of his day when the scratching of the dip-pen ceased. He continued to stare down at the unfinished sentence.

"You already have."

He rubbed the back of his head with the pen free hand in embarrassment.

"Sorry. Of course you can, Kristoff."

"Tell me if this is just – way to personal, or anything, but – are you going to do anymore magic for Arendelle?"

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Like – the ice rink."

"Oh." She hadn't thought about it. There'd been other things on her mind – Hans, Anna, repairs – "I don't know."

He shrugged, and went back to his careful, painstaking lettering. "You should."

She pondered this.

With a flourish, Kristoff placed a triumphant full stop.

"How's that?"

The paper was pushed across the desk and Elsa's quick blue eyes darted over the words.

His handwriting was kind of cramped and none of it was joined up, but she could read it well enough. Occasionally, she circled something.

"Is Sven recovering ok?"

"Huh? Oh," He looked a bit embarrassed. "It wasn't that bad really – I uh, just wanted to practice some words I know I can't spell."

Elsa was impressed. "Well, you've spelt them almost all right. There's just a few places where you're still mixing up your C's and S's." She slid the paper forward and pointed them out to him. "Here and here."

"Soft C's," he muttered. "I keep forgetting those."

"It's ok," she smiled. "It's a really easy mistake to make. Otherwise, this is pretty good."

Kristoff seemed to thrive off praise. Every time Elsa told him he was doing great, he seemed to puff up, all gruff, and would work even harder in between their sessions; he'd been practicing the spellings she'd picked up on last time, she could tell.

"So – when you say more magic for Arendelle…"

Quickly, he looked up from the C's and S's he'd been correcting. "Oh – sure, I mean – I don't have any specific ideas. I was just thinking: your magic is great, and the ice rink thing was… also great."

"Do you think… Arendelle would like that?"

"Elsa, Arendelle would love that."

She nodded thoughtfully.

* * *

"Are you kidding me?"

Hands on hips, Anna gazed in mock horror at the children before her. "Elsa is _no way_ the scariest part of that story. You want to know the scariest part of that story?" They nodded, all wide eyes and bated breath. "The _wolves_."

A collective gasp.

"That's right. You know what?"

They shuffled closer. "What?"

"I am going to tell you the _whole story_. Tomorrow. With Elsa and Olaf and – " she had been about to say, _and Kristoff,_ but thought better of it. She didn't want to bother him. Not when he clearly – didn't want to be bothered by her. " – and you'll see she's not scary _at all_." Anna leant forward and whispered conspiratorially. " _I'm_ actually the scary one."

She pulled her best scary face. It was received with a wave of giggles.

She mock-pouted.

"Let's see you do a scarier face then!"

She was not disappointed.

* * *

Elsa was not sure how she'd bee roped into this.

The previous day, Anna had marched into her office and announced she needed help of the magical variety to tell the story of the Great Thaw.

 _"_ _Elsa? Are you free for a minute?"_

Elsa had actually been very free. For once, she had finished all meetings and readings and signings way ahead of schedule: it was four in the afternoon and she had been in her room, a Queen of Leisure.

Unheard of.

Anna had bounced in, plonked herself on the edge of the bed, and begun in an ominously winning tone.

 _"_ _If you're not busy, I was wondering…"_

 _"_ _Oh God. What do you want, Anna?"_

 _"_ _Well, two things, actually. Firstly, if you're free, can we do something? I'm – it's a little lonely, at the moment. And secondly, are you free tomorrow as well?"_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _Well, tomorrow, I was wondering, I sort of need some help, of the magical kind – "_

 _"_ _No – I mean, why are you lonely?"_

As she'd skilfully dodged this question with a _'I'm building up to that'_ and dived into a top-speed rendition of her request, Elsa had been forcefully reminded of how, as a child, Anna had put on very vivid plays for their parents. Elsa had always _somehow_ been roped into helping out.

 _"_ _Basically, I was talking to the kids today – you know, the ones from the choir? – and I ended up talking about the whole French Leave thing – long story short, they said you were scary. So, I thought I could tell them the whole Great Thaw story. Tomorrow. With… possible magical scene setting? And Olaf cameos?"_

 _"'_ _Magical scene setting'?"_

 _"_ _Yeah. I feel like me describing the ice palace will be nowhere near as good as you creating a little mini-version for them to see, you know?"_

Before she knew it, Kristoff's words were ringing in her ears and she was agreeing.

So here she was. Pantomiming.

She couldn't help but have a fleeting, terrifying vision of her future as an aunt.

"And then – out of nowhere – bam! There's this _ice palace_ ," Anna threw her arms wide, and right on cue Elsa conjured up a much smaller version of her beautiful, brief home. Its turrets stretched and unfurled behind Anna.

Elsa was pleased to note the suitably appreciative gasps from the assembled children.

"And me, Olaf, Sven and Kristoff – well, we figure we've found Elsa. Who else could do something as amazing, right? So, then we went up to this giant palace, and Kristoff – well, he's the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer, so you can imagine how excited he got about it – and we went up to the door, and – "

She looked to Olaf, who, right on cue, chipped in, "Knock. Just knock!"

The children tapped the ground as Anna mimed knocking.

"And then this bit – this bit is amazing." She turned to Elsa, who rather reluctantly stepped forward. "Show them, Elsa! Do the magic!"

A wave of her hand that was only slightly hesitant, and Elsa spread her arms. Before wide-eyes, the sleeves of her fairly ordinary gown turned blue, glittered, a flurry of snow spread itself back into a long cape, and to an overture of Olaf's laughter and the children's awe, the Snow Queen of Arendelle stood glittering, robed in magical splendour.

There was a moment.

"…Basically she'd done that," said Anna, practically glowing with pride, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Pretty neat, huh?"

Several children nodded enthusiastically. " _Then_ what happened?"

Anna turned to Olaf. "You want to be Marshmallow?"


	15. Punctuated

**Notes:**

Sorry for the delay in updating! Hopefully the next one will be a little swifter.

This chapter is a little bit angsty, which I did not initially plan - the dialogue ran away with me, and then I thought the result was quite 'true-to-life', so to speak. Let me know your thoughts on this.

It's also very Kristanna heavy - promise to balance this out with some Elsa next chapter.

We should be coming to the end of a few arcs over the next couple of chapters - namely Anna's charity stuff and Kristoff's reading. Hopefully these get wrapped up ok and we can move on to the next bits of story progression!

As ever, your feedback is wonderful - thanks for sticking with this fic. X

* * *

Kristoff was in a foul mood.

He'd spent the morning dealing with a very angry fisherman who was convinced the Ice Harvester's Guild was trying to dominate and usurp the town's fishing industry. There had been raised voices, threats, and the exchange of insults Kristoff would never want his mother to hear him use.

And then he'd missed lunch because he'd been mugged by a number of very loud and very enthusiastic young men shouting about inefficient ice storage. They'd waved blueprints at him and talked over each other for a good ten minutes before they finally settled down and consented to book separate appointments – and that had taken half an hour.

And _then_ he'd had to break up a fight outside the icehouse – a returning ice harvester insisted his blocks were 350 pounds each, but the icehouse scales were having none of it, and Kristoff had to practically pull the men off each other before settling the discrepancy himself. He'd had to weigh every single block on two different sets of scales. Twice.

And then to top it all off, it had rained.

Kristoff stomped down to the stables, grumbling, and was just about to yell for Sven when a familiar voice gave him pause.

"…and then Elsa made a little snowflake – you know, like the one in the sky after the Great Thaw? And she made it burst, and then there were little snowflakes in all the kids' hair. It was so great. I had to fill in for you and Kristoff, though."

 _"Did I save the day?"_

"Of course you did. The noble steed of the valiant pungent reindeer king? You're basically the hero of the whole thing!"

Sven huffed happily.

"And Olaf –" The voice shook with remembered laughter. "Olaf played the Trolls. He tried rolling like them, but – you know. He's three balls of snow, not one, and – " at this point, the voice dissolved into snorts of laughter. Then squeals, as – presumably – Sven had dived in for an over-enthusiastic ear-snuffle.

Kristoff had no idea what to do. He'd been avoiding that voice and its owner: it crumbled his resolve to give her time and space and accept whatever decision she made –

But she was right there, the other side of this stable door. Doing Sven's voice.

It made his foolish heart swell and he remembered all over again how much he missed her; how much he likedbeing around her.

"…Children's Home is supposed to be finished on Wednesday. Do you want to come see?"

 _"Of course!"_

"Would Kristoff like to come?"

 _"You should ask him!"_

"I'm nervous. You ask him."

Dammit, his resolve wasn't good enough for this.

"Hi."

Anna moved faster than Kristoff thought he'd ever seen her move. She spun round and to her feet, straw on her dress and a look of sheer panic on her face.

Sven gave Kristoff a look.

"Kristoff! God, you scared the life out of me." She placed a hand on her racing heart.

"Sorry. I um, I was just coming to get Sven. But – if I'm interrupting something, I can go away again."

It was too easy to joke with her.

She smiled. "Oh – no, it's ok, we were just – I haven't seen Sven much recently. So we were having a catch up, you know?"

There was a pause heavy with impulse.

Anna absent-mindedly pulled a bit of straw off her dress.

"Anna – "

And the way he said her name, so strained and apologetic and full of restraint –

Before she knew what she was doing, Anna went to him and threw her arms around him, the way a child might hug a parent.

Kristoff went very wide eyed and looked down at the top of her head, buried against his chest. He looked at Sven, who shrugged.

He wasn't sure what to do with his hands.

"I'm sorry," came the mumble.

"What for?"

"For… whatever it is I've done."

He forgot his inhibitions for a moment and wrapped his arms around her.

"Oh – no, Anna you haven't done anything – it's just I thought – well – "

A cough from the stable door.

They leapt apart as though electrocuted.

"Sorry," the man grunted, trudging past them to the stall beside Sven's, collecting a heavy-set mare. "'Scuse me."

He walked the horse out of the stables, leaving a very awkward silence in his wake.

Kristoff cleared his throat. "So – the, uh, Children's Home is done on Wednesday?"

She nodded, frantically twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "Yes – it's a bit behind schedule, but it'll be done – there's going to be a big opening – Elsa will be there – and I'll be there too, obviously – it should be great, I'm really excited, I think it'll be amazing, and – yeah."

Kristoff nodded. "Great. Sounds great. I'll, er – can I – be there?"

She lit up like the sun. "Would you like to?"

He nodded again. "I'd love to."

Then he turned on his heel and left, completely forgetting why he'd been there in the first place.

* * *

Kristoff spent the remainder of the evening by the waterfront, whittling. He was making little chess pieces.

The thing with whittling was the detail. It was easy enough to create the basic shape, but it was the detail – the features of the knight who was starting to look quite a lot like Anna's favourite painting of Joan of Arc – that was tricky. And most important.

You had to use the very tip of the knife and a real delicacy and precision. Especially if you wanted it to be perfect – and this one had to be perfect.

It was only when the sun bled gold and red across the fjord that Kristoff realised how long he had been sat there.

He stretched, safely stowed the knife and dropped the little figures in his pocket: he should get Sven.

Arriving back at the stables, he was greeted with a strange sight.

Anna and Sven were fast asleep. Her head was tipped back against his shaggy side and she was snoring, even more straw attached to her dress than earlier.

Kristoff hesitated for a moment.

She couldn't well sleep here. Elsa would kill him.

"Anna?"

With a furtive look around, he trudged over and crouched beside her.

"Anna? Anna, wake up."

"Anna?"

She shifted slightly with a particularly nasal snore.

He sighed. Apparently nothing short of a vigorous shaking was going to wake her up.

And then they'd have to have more awkward conversation, because he couldn't exactly wake her up, boot her out of the stables and just send her off on her way. He'd have to walk her back, and –

With a sigh, he sat down beside her in the hay.

Kristoff tipped his head back to rest against the stable post.

His thoughts drifted to her bizarre behaviour that afternoon.

Initially, he'd made the decision to give Anna some space so it would be easier for her to get her head round what was happening with Hans. He didn't want to be in the way at all – he knew he was great at that.

But over the week he'd been in the mountains – and the two weeks after that – more and more he couldn't help but think that really the decision was… well, already settled.

She was a princess. She deserved someone who was tall and dashing and romantic and could sweep her off her feet. Someone who knew what to do in her world of balls and dinners and diplomacy.

And that wasn't Hans. God, she deserved better.

But what Hans stood for – that was different.

Kristoff was an ice harvester. He couldn't read. He had no heritage to speak of, no home, no manners – he didn't even own two pairs of shoes. He wasn't handsome or romantic or smart and his family wore _moss_.

He had nothing to offer her.

He couldn't help but compare himself to Hans – or at least what Hans represented – and feel humiliated.

He'd been in the right place at the right time. That was all.

And if he stayed away, maybe it would hurt less when she realised that – as, inevitably, she would.

Kristoff thumped his head back against the post. _Stupid._

This was why, he thought, it was best to just be alone, really. Just him and Sven and occasionally the Trolls. Life was less difficult, less complicated, and ultimately, less painful.

He jumped as he heard a sudden, loud rustle beside him.

Bleary eyed, straw in her hair, a little patch of sleep-dribble on her cheek, Anna sat up. She looked completely disorientated.

"Kristoff?"

"Er – hi."

"Wha…" She looked around, completely bewildered and clearly still half-asleep. "What?"

"You fell asleep in the stable," he explained, trying his best not to laugh. Laughing made it worse. "I tried to wake you up, but you were pretty out of it."

"Urghmm."

She lay back down.

"No, no, Anna, you _cannot_ sleep here. Elsa's going to have a fit."

"Warm."

"It's not going to be warm in an hour or so when the sun's completely set."

There was a pause. Then she sat up again and rubbed her eyes.

"Take me home?"

Well – it would be rude to refuse. She was the princess.

He sighed, and helped her to her sleepy feet. "Come on, fiestypants," he murmured. "Let's find you a feather bed."

Without thinking, he removed some of the bits of straw from her hair.

 _Princess_ , he reminded himself.

For most of the journey back, she was too groggy to say much, but as the sun disappeared and the air got colder, she seemed to wake up and become more awkward – or bashful? – and started to jabber.

"Sorry – about that, falling asleep in the stables – I haven't been sleeping great – and Sven was pretty snugly – which surprises me actually – though he smells pretty funky, but he smells a bit like you – or you like him – I mean, not in a bad way – "

Kristoff cut across her. "Anna, about earlier – "

"Ohhh, sorry about that – I don't know what came over me, I just – I just – I'm really sorry," she apologised, pulling bits of straw out of her hair.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I do though, because clearly I've done something – and I'm not sure what – and I just want – "

Kristoff felt frustration flare in his chest.

"What, Anna? What do you want?"

She stopped, and looked up at him with big, hurt eyes.

"…sorry."

"No, I mean – never mind. Let's just get you back to the castle."

"You know what, Sven's right. You _are_ just a grumpy person. What have I done? Why won't you tell me?"

She was raising her voice and people were glancing at them.

Kristoff felt his face burn.

"Anna, come on, time and a place – "

" _No_ ," She planted her feet, arms crossed. Clearly, she was fully awake now. "No, I want to know what's going on. For the past – " some quite speedy mental maths – "few weeks you've been avoiding me and I don't know why, and I don't know what's wrong and you won't talk to me and it's like – doors, all over again, and – "

"Woah, Anna," he quickly placed his hands on her upper arms. "Come on, let's – let's go somewhere and talk, people are staring – "

"No no no, you know what, I have spent enough time with Elsa to know when someone doesn't want to talk about it, so I'm just going to go – "

What _was_ it with this girl and making a public scene?

"Anna, we can talk, just – not here – "

He tried to steer her in the direction of the castle. Begrudgingly, she complied and marched forward in sudden, stony silence.

When they reached the end of the Great Road and the open gates, they stopped.

"Anna, listen. I – "

"Princess Anna!"

Gerda was hurrying across the courtyard towards them.

"Princess Anna, there you are! Your sister has been worried – you missed dinner – she was just about to send out guards to look for you – "

"Sorry, Gerda, I – I fell asleep." She brushed some of the straw off her dress, " – in a stable."

Gerda turned to Kristoff, barely concealing the scandalised look on her face.

Kristoff raised his hands. "No no no, not like – I found her," he explained, glancing up at the castle towering above, half-expecting to see Elsa preparing to strike him down with icy wrath – "I thought I should bring her back."

Gerda looked very relieved.

"Very well. In that case, thank you, Master Bjorgman. But you must come inside, my lady – your sister is very anxious to see you."

Anna looked very torn. She looked from Kristoff to Gerda to the high castle window she knew was her sister's study. "But – urghhm." She made a strange noise of frustration and seemed to deflate a little. "Good night, Kristoff. Thanks for bringing me back."

And she turned and hurried towards the castle.


	16. Changing Places

**Notes:**

I feel mean about these short chapters recently - here's an extra long one to make up for it, with extra helpings of Elsa. X

* * *

"Where have you been?"

Anna stood on the threshold of Elsa's study like a child called in for reprimands.

"I fell asleep. I'm really sorry I missed dinner."

Elsa looked pale and stressed and ran a hand through her hair. "It's fine. I just – I didn't know where you were. Normally you tell me, or at least let a servant .know that you won't be there."

Anna looked at her feet. "I'm sorry."

"What happened? I saw Kristoff bringing you back. Is everything all right?"

"Sure – sure, he just found me was all. I'd gone to see Sven, and – "

Anna found herself suddenly choked up. She swallowed hard.

" – and I fell asleep, because – "

Elsa knew her little sister. In the two months since the Great Thaw, she'd tried to be with her every day – even if it was only ten minutes. She knew her mannerisms and her sense of humour and the way she liked to tell stories.

Never in those two months had she seen her upset. Even on the North Mountain, and at the coronation, it had been anger – or at least, anger over sadness, and with the betrayal of Hans it had been humour – humour covering up however she felt underneath –

But there was nothing funny about this situation, and there was nothing to be angry at either.

"Elsa," Anna said it in a tiny voice, and looked down. She held out her arms like she used to as a child.

Without hesitation, Elsa went to her and pulled her into a huge hug.

They stood like that for a few minutes, silent, swaying on the spot.

Finally, Elsa pulled back, and led her sister round the desk. She sat her in the old armchair that used to be their father's.

"Hang on a second."

Elsa pulled a string that hung by the door. Downstairs, in the servants quarters, a bell rung.

"You want tea, or a sandwich?"

Anna looked up, startled.

"Or both?"

"Um," Anna sniffed, and began searching unsuccessfully for a handkerchief. "Ice cream?"

A servant appeared in the doorway. "Your majesty?"

"Nikolas. Could you fetch a pot of coffee and some chocolate ice cream, please? Two cups."

"Of course, your majesty." He bowed, and hurried off.

Elsa made her way back over to the armchair. Perching on the arm, she took one of Anna's very messy plaits in her hand and fluffed the end of it on her sister's nose until, very begrudgingly, Anna smiled.

"What's up with you, Anna?"

"It's nothing, really. I'm ok."

"I'm pretty sure it's an act of treason to lie to the Queen of Arendelle." She opened a drawer and found her sister a handkerchief.

Anna blew her nose loudly.

When the ice cream and coffee arrived they moved to sit on the sofa, placing the tray on the little table before them.

"You know," Elsa said, pouring some coffee, "I had a letter from Spain the other day. Nothing particularly exciting, but it did mention they're having a bit of a heat wave. The royal family, apparently, have been entertaining guests with a new drink."

To Anna's surprise, Elsa dropped a scoop of ice cream into her coffee cup.

"I know you don't like coffee, but try this. I think you might change your mind."

Anna took the cup suspiciously. "I don't think I like the look of that."

Elsa smiled. "Just try it."

A highly mistrustful sip; then Anna's eyes widened and she looked down at the cup in wonder.

"That is… woah."

Elsa grinned. "You're welcome. I'll inform the Spanish that Arendelle approves." She helped herself to the same. "Now tell me, Anna. What's the matter?"

Anna picked up one of the spoons from the tray and scooped out a bit of ice cream. "It's silly, really. Kristoff's being kind of distant. And I'm not sure why. He's totally allowed to be, of course, but – it's a bit – I thought we had an open-door policy now," she mumbled.

"Have you spoken to him about it?"

She shook her head. "No. I mean we – this evening, we had a bit of an argument." She seemed distressed. "I hate arguments. I think I've made it worse. Whatever it is."

Elsa shook her head and put down her cup. "Arguments are normal, Anna. And healthy. Remember how mama and papa used to argue sometimes? And if you hadn't – at the coronation, if we hadn't argued, then… I don't know where we'd be now."

Anna made a funny movement that was half a shrug, half a nod. "This was different, though. It was like half an argument."

Elsa considered.

"When you say he's been distant – how do you mean? Obviously I've noticed he's not been at the castle. At all."

"I'm not sure. Like – he didn't tell me he'd got back from the mountains. And he's been avoiding me, and if I've gone to see him, he's made some excuse to leave – " She was getting a bit overwhelmed again. "I'm not stupid. I know I act it a bit sometimes, but I'm not."

Elsa stirred the ice cream into her coffee, thinking. The office was quiet: the only sounds were the murmur of the fjord and the clink of Elsa's spoon against her cup.

It was the final day of September, and autumn was well and truly taking hold of Arendelle. The last vestiges of summer were receding – much to Olaf's dismay – and everywhere, nature was in retreat.

Elsa shivered.

"He's always asking about you when – " she suddenly remembered the secrecy of the reading lessons. " – when I see him about ice things."

Anna looked up. She had ice cream at the corner of her mouth. "Really?"

"Yeah. When did… Anna, I hate to ask this, but – " she sighed. Bit her lip. "Did you say anything to Kristoff about the letters from Hans?"

Anna paled.

"I – no?"

"Do you not think that maybe this has something to do with them?"

Anna was speechless.

Elsa sighed. "Really, Anna?"

"I didn't – I – I didn't think he knew. Really. And I didn't think _you_ knew – how did you know there'd been more than one?" She was suddenly frowning, defensive.

Elsa looked at her sister incredulously. "You think I'm just going to sit back and let some slimy – prince – write to my sister and not keep track of it?"

"Have you _read_ them?" She was outraged, and slammed her cup down on the table.

"Have _you_?"

"That's – that's none of your business. They're addressed to _me_ , and – and – you can't just read other people's letters, Elsa!"

Anna's voice had raised to teeter on the brink of hysteria. It made Elsa… suspicious. Hysteria?

"Anna – no, I haven't read them. I'm just aware that they're arriving. We live in the same castle."

She seemed to calm significantly. "Oh. Right." She picked up her cup again and took a large gulp.

There was a long pause.

Elsa didn't want to let the letter thing drop. That had been – that was not a standard reaction. What was in those letters that Anna had been so horrified that she'd seen? Or – had she not read them herself?

But she was trying to cheer Anna up. Find out what was happening with Kristoff.

 _Relationships_ , she thought to herself. _Isn't life complicated enough without them?_

"Anna, I think it is more than likely Kristoff is being distant because of the letters."

Anna closed her eyes. "But that's so silly. He doesn't… that's no reason to be all closed off."

Elsa shrugged. "'Happiness must be something solid and permanent, without fear and without uncertainty'. It's hard to do something or be with someone that makes you happy if you're afraid at any moment it might disappear. For whatever reason," she added, a little wistfully. "I think most people like to have… something solid to hold on to."

Anna half-smiled. "Like you and me do now, huh?"

Elsa kissed her sister's forehead. "Yeah. Like you and me do know."

The rest of the evening passed with easy conversation. Elsa remembered to ask whether Anna still did any drawing (she did), and Anna understood almost all of Elsa's enthusiastic explanation of the recent discrediting of something called phrenology.

Finally, Anna yawned.

"Right. You need to get to bed."

Anna nodded. "Definitely. I don't know why I'm so t-t-tired at the moment," she spoke through another yawn. "I'll see you at breakfast."

"Of course," Elsa hesitated. "Listen –"

Anna had stood, and was scraping the last dregs of ice cream out of her cup when her sister spoke. "Mmm?"

" – get a good night's sleep, ok?"

"I'll try."

"And Anna –" Elsa smiled. "Love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Tuesday morning. A knock at the door.

"My lady?"

"Mmm?"

"Sorry to wake you, my lady –"

Anna rolled over in bed. "Oh, you didn't – I've been up for hours." She snuggled down further into the blankets.

"Well, there is a letter for you, my lady – I would have waited until breakfast, but the messenger seemed very insistent. He said it was urgent."

Anna felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. The temptation to dive further into the safety of her bedcovers and pretend this wasn't happening was almost overwhelming.

"Shall I come in and leave it for you, my lady?"

" – sure. If you could just leave it on my desk, Gerda – that'd be great."

* * *

She'd set him the task of reading the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer documents: he was ready.

When the tentative knock on the door came at precisely 6:30, she looked up and smiled. The papers were clutched in his hand.

"Kristoff. Come in. Shall I call for some tea or anything?"

"Er, sure. That'd be great, if that's ok?"

They talked a while – talking was becoming really quite easy as they found, to mutual surprise, that they actually had a fair amount in common – and when the tea arrived on a delicate little tray, Elsa made a mental note to have the servants find some cups that weren't tiny bone china.

Eventually, she broached the subject.

"How did you find the specification?"

Kristoff knew what she meant.

"Great. I mean, really – there were only a few things I couldn't quite get – but – " He grinned one of those rare, broad grins of his – "I think I really got it, Elsa."

His smile was only matched by her own.

After a moment's hesitation, she leant forward to place a hand on his forearm. "I hope it doesn't sound too condescending to say I'm really proud."

"Only slightly."

They both laughed.

"This is so great, Kristoff. So – which bits…?"

"Oh – just a couple. Errrm," he flicked through the sheets, lips wordlessly moving as he counted pages from the front. "Here. What…?"

"Oh – pertaining. 'Responsible for logging all complaints and requests pertaining to the creation of artificial lakes and directing these queries to the appropriate landing authorities'."

"Ah, ok. That makes sense. And the other bit was here – " the flick of pages – "Does that say _pri-vill-egg-ess_? Because I have no idea what that means."

"Privileges."

"Oh, I see. Ok. Privileges?"

"Privileges."

There was a slight pause filled with nothing but the clock's tick and Kristoff's clearly very deep thought.

"Elsa. When you first gave me all this stuff – do you remember I thought it wasn't a real thing?"

Elsa half-smiled. "I do."

"Well, I remember you said you'd made some changes to it? Updates, I think you said."

She knew exactly what he was talking about. It'd been – not underhand, exactly, but there had been a modicum of arm-bending to change the role description –

"Yes. What about it?"

He was slightly taken aback by her overly-quick response, but pressed on. "I was wondering what those were. If it's ok to – ask?"

What he wanted to say was that there were a few things in the document that seemed decidedly out of place. But he daren't.

"Oh."

Elsa never blushed. Never. She was rarely even embarrassed – that was his forte – yet here she was, all regality and unflappable elegance lost for a moment. She looked just like her sister.

"Well – just a few things. Nothing major."

Vague response. Intriguing.

"Like what? If you don't mind me asking."

There was a pause.

Finally – defeatedly –

"Section C. Part two. And the final sentence of part four."

Kristoff flicked through and ran his finger along the page, lips moving silently as he read.

A look of shock.

He flicked over to the next indicated section.

A look of surprise.

Finally, his eyes came back to meet hers.

"Elsa…"

She flapped a hand in a very Anna-ish way. "It was the least I could do. I thought they would be additions gratefully received. Was I… right, or…?"

He didn't know what to say. Every day he seemed to find himself more indebted to this woman, who seemed to read every situation like a book, who extended her generosity beyond what was reasonable –

"You were. But, Elsa, I can't, this is – you and Anna are too – "

Again, with the words.

"Kristoff, Anna and me – it's just that we – we like… giving. Kindness shouldn't be a novelty."

He was quite humbled.

"However," she was back in control now, cool and confident once more. "At the moment, I feel like section D part four is unnecessary. I spoke to Anna yesterday, and I feel it is time to now speak to you. What is going on?"

It was a very direct question, and Kristoff felt he could hardly be blamed for feeling his stomach drop and responding with a weak, "I, um…what?"

"Kristoff, come on. For the past couple of weeks, you've not come to dinner, you've been staying at the guildhall – you didn't tell her you'd come back from the mountains – I suppose it's none of my business, but Anna is my sister. What's happening?"

"Um," he said again, weakly. "Happening?"

"Yes."

This was not how he'd envisioned this reading lesson going.

"We've – well – I – um – " he rubbed the back of his head. " – I just thought I'd space her. Give her some space. From Hans – because of the letter from hands – Hans – "

She hated it when her instinct was right.

"Kristoff – nothing is happing with Hans. Nothing _will_. The letters are – unnerving, but – "

"Letter _s_? Plural? _"_

Elsa nodded grimly. "There's been three now."

He was all anxiety. "Is she reading them?"

A sigh. "I don't know. She's not really discussing it. But – " Elsa shook her head. Ran a tired hand over her face. "It's you, Kristoff. That's why that section is in there. That's why – at least partly why – she's been so distant lately. She thinks _you_ are moving away from _her_."

Not for the first time, Elsa thanked her lucky stars that she had no interest in romantic entanglements of her own. Anna's were complicated for the both of them.

Kristoff looked completely dumbfounded.

"Me?"

 _"Yes."_

She could have slapped him.

He was very quiet for the rest of their reading session and said goodnight with the same kind of shell-shocked look.

"Will you stay here tonight?"

He turned, just about to leave.

"Should I?"

"I think so."

"Then… sure."

He left, making sure to leave the door customarily open.

Elsa dropped her head onto folded arms with an exasperated sigh.


	17. Ajar

**Notes:**

Long chapter today - but necessary length, I think. Hopefully a lot of things will fall into place from the last few chapters (that's the dream, at least)...

I had a bit of a fight with formatting in this chapter - italics and centre alignment are supposed to denote letter text, but sorry if the layout is a little confusing! I think the cross-post on Archive of Our Own looks much nicer.

As ever, feedback is wonderful. Thanks for sticking with this story. X

* * *

The Children's Home had not finished on schedule. But it had finished.

It was the day of the unveiling and as she practically ran down to breakfast, Anna felt she had her priorities straight.

To put it mildly, she was bouncing off the walls.

She burst into the dining room (ready to bombard Elsa with plans and excitement) and almost had a heart attack when she saw _two_ people already there.

She turned straight back around and ran out again with a half-strangled cry about hairpins.

Outside the dining room she stood almost flat against the wall, heart pounding. She grabbed a passing servant.

 _"_ _Couldyoutellmewhykristoffishere!?"_

The servant – bearing an armful of laundry – blinked.

"I beg your pardon, my lady?" She asked politely.

Anna swallowed. "Sorry Greta. Do you, uh – do you know why the Ice Master is here? For _breakfast_?"

"I believed he stayed at the castle last night, my lady. Her majesty had me make up the guest room."

Anna nodded, in shock.

"Thank you, Greta."

Cautiously, she peeked back into the dining room.

Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hair and adjusted her dress. _Take it easy, Anna._

"Good morning!"

 _Was that too cheery? That sounded too cheery._

"Sorry about that – just realised I forgot – my hair pins. Oh –" she looked at Kristoff in surprise and smiled politely. "Kristoff. How nice to see you. I didn't know you were having breakfast with us today."

With as much grace as she could muster, she trotted round to her seat beside Elsa.

"Good morning, Anna." Pouring her sister a cup of tea, Elsa shot Kristoff a meaningful look.

Kristoff cleared his throat. "Hi, Anna. I – how're you?"

Anna took the tea and proceeded to drown it in milk and sugar, giving herself a good excuse to not make too much eye contact with the unexpected guest. "Oh, I'm great thanks. Really excited about the opening today. How're – how're you?"

"Good. Are you – are you all set for the opening?"

"Mmhmm," Anna was now taking a great interest in piling pastries onto her plate. "All ready, I think. It's at noon, but I want to get there a bit early to check everything's in place – that's why I'm up so early!"

Elsa glanced at the clock. Ten thirty. "It is really not that early."

Anna shot her a look.

"It is for me! Anyway, you're going to be at the opening, right, Elsa?"

"Of course. You'll be joining us too, won't you Kristoff?"

He nodded. "That'd be great. It's going to be – great."

Kristoff offered Anna a small smile. It was returned.

"All Anna's been talking about recently is the Children's Home," Elsa said, smiling. "It feels strange that the day is finally here."

This was not much of an exaggeration. Anna had the capacity to become passionate about almost anything, but her enthusiasm for this Children's Home was above and beyond. She'd spent hours with Elsa poring over applications and interviewed all potential staff members herself. She'd even gone to see potential patrons, armed with her passion and her best dresses, all the while driving Master Haugen up the wall with endless questions.

But it was done.

"It feels _exciting_. I can't wait." Anna sighed happily. "I was thinking, I'm going to wear that new dress I got – you know, the purple one? With the blue trim? And I thought you could wear _your_ blue one – you know, _that_ blue one – and we'd be kind of co-ordinated."

"That sounds ridiculous."

Anna happily poured herself some more tea. "If by ridiculous you mean co-ordinated, then yes."

Elsa sighed, but Kristoff, despite himself, smiled. He caught Anna's eye for a fraction of a second.

"Ahhh, come on Elsa. Please. For me? This is… this means a lot to me."

Elsa shook her head with a smile. "Fine. I'll wear the blue dress. For you."

Anna cheered. "And we're going to cut the ribbon together?"

"There's a ribbon?"

"Of course! All the way across the doors. I used the same ribbon guy I did for – your sled, Kristoff," her hand absently drifted up to fiddle with a strand of hair. Very gently, Elsa placed a hand in the crook of her arm to stop her.

"Of course I'll cut the ribbon with you. Are you going to give a speech?"

Painfully aware of Kristoff's presence, Anna made sure to swallow her mouthful of pastry before answering. "Maybe. I hadn't thought about it. Should I have written something?"

"Probably. But if it's not too long, we can come up with something now."

Kristoff made to excuse himself, not wanting to intrude any longer.

"I'll get out your way. Thanks for breakfast. I'll, er – see you at the opening?"

Mainly, he looked to Anna for confirmation.

She met his gaze and with a rush of affection that caught her off guard, smiled shyly.

"Sure. That'd be great."

With a bow, he left. There was something that might have been a spring in his step.

* * *

"I've just got a few more things to sort out here," Elsa took her sister's hands and smiled. She was wearing the blue dress Anna had requested: its long, icy train fell behind her like an elegant afterthought. "I'll be right with you."

Anna bobbed up and down. "Ok. You sure? I won't start till you're there. But don't be too long. I just need to check everything's ready, and then we can get going."

"I'll be there."

With a final smile, Anna bounced off.

Elsa watched her go, something between guilt and happiness hanging in her chest. Having Kristoff at breakfast had been a good idea.

And this – had to be done.

Swiftly, she turned and swept up towards Anna's room.

Each footfall steeled her resolve, and she was half tempted to gild the stairs with ice as she went, to relive that certainty she'd felt ascending the flight of steps to her ice palace.

She pushed open the door with a cautious hand.

Light streamed in from all directions – the high windows, the door she stood framed in – to illuminate a completely empty room.

Elsa entered, glancing about.

She pushed the door to. She couldn't bring herself to close it fully – but nor did she want to be obviously visible to passers-by.

Elsa took a deep breath and unconsciously drew her arms about herself: a protective gesture.

What she was protecting herself from was less clear.

The first place she went was her sister's bedroom cabinet. The drawer first: nothing, just jewellery and face creams and hair pins.

Cabinet top? No, even under the lamp were just lists and empty inkwells and general detritus.

She quickly glanced under the bed. Nothing.

Elsa searched the pockets of dresses, in desk drawers – she found sketch books and shoes and even found what looked to be some kind of diary. There was nothing slipped between the pages. Briefly, she thought of flicking through the last few pages for a clue –

 _Come on, Elsa. It's invasive enough as it is. Sneaking into Anna's room, sifting through her things –_

But, she reminded herself, this had gone far enough. Not to mention it was essentially a matter of national security. Potential plots and threats against Arendelle and/or its royal family had to be investigated thoroughly. Right?

Right. She exhaled to calm herself.

Suddenly, a copy of _Sense and Sensibility_ caught her eye.

Anna's favourite book. She'd read it a dozen times – but at the moment, she was reading _Ivanhoe_ , and she wasn't one to have multiple books on the go.

Elsa hesitated for a fraction of a second before gently picking up the book and flicking through its pages.

Sure enough, between the pages of chapter nine lay three very flat but clearly well-read letters.

A line of worry appeared between Elsa's brows: Anna had opened them. All of them.

With another cursory glance around, she unfolded the first letter and began to read.

 _My dearest Anna,_

 _Please – read this letter. I implore you._

 _Anna, what is going on? The letter your sister sent to my mother and father seemed to say that you –_

 _It is almost too painful to write. The letter seemed to say that you had said I claimed to have never loved you. That I left you to die, and that I had my sights set only on the throne of Arendelle._

 _Anna, tell me this isn't true. I would never say such things, I love you, Anna, and I cannot understand what had happened; why you would say these things._

 _Oh, Anna, do you not remember how you came to me at the castle? Anna, you must remember. You returned from the mountain weak and cold, delirious, hardly talking sense – you fell into my arms and through your frantic words I managed to make out that your sister had froze your heart and that only an act of true love could save you – I did not waste a second, but went to kiss you._

 _At this point, I can only conclude that the cold must have overcome your senses – but I confess, so fearful for your safety I believed your loss of consciousness your death._

 _I cannot begin to describe my feelings in that moment._

 _I could not believe it – you, my Anna, my soulmate – dead at the hands of her sister – I confess, I was overcome with such grief and rage that – I stoked the fire, but it was no use. You were so cold. As cold as death – I could feel no breath from you._

 _In my grief – in my rage at your sister – for I believed she was responsible for your death – I ran for help, and accused her of treason._

 _Leaving you then was a decision I will regret for the rest of my life. I see now that my grief and fear clouded my judgement, and if I had just stayed with you, none of this would have happened. I only hope you can forgive me._

 _Anna, I do not know why you have said these things. Did you perhaps fall into a delirious sleep? Certainly you were frantic and barely coherent when you arrived at the castle – I can think of no other explanation._

 _I should have known that was what had happened – that you had not died – I cannot forgive myself for that._

 _Anna, my heart is broken. Please, write to me, explain – you cannot, surely, believe these things you have said? I am guilty of poor and rash judgement: the judgement of a broken man. No more. My actions towards your sister were motivated entirely out of grief for what I believed to be your death._

 _Anna – write to me, my darling –_

 _Your true love – always –_

 _Hans_

Wordless, Elsa turned to the second letter.

 _My dearest Anna,_

 _Weeks, and still you do not write. Can it be that you have forgotten me?_

 _My brothers have had me incarcerated – I confess, with little food and water, the sole light in my darkness is the thought that you, my love, might write to me._

 _I understand that our two countries are now quite at odds. I can only pray that this does not come to any kind of alienation – or, God forbid – war – I know that you, as a good person, would not want violence to result from your rejection. Neither of us would want that._

 _Anna, why do you yet not write? Everything I have done has been in the service of your love and your happiness – and I am repaid thus by the world. Perhaps it is my fault for being such a romantic – I truly believed in our happily ever after._

 _And I still do. Anna, my love, write to me – give me some hope that all I have done for you is not in vain. I know you said your sister would never hurt you – but has already, once before, proven this to be false. I fear, Anna – I don't want you being hurt by her again. My darling, write to me and tell me it is not so._

 _Your true love – always –_

 _Hans_

Elsa felt sick as she turned to the final letter. But she had to read.

 _My dearest Anna,_

 _I find it hard to believe that you still do not write to me. Is it possible that my letters are not reaching you – or yours me? I know you are good person – I shall not believe that you would torture me thus._

 _Can it be that you have forgotten me so soon? I cannot think you have, God forbid, formed an attachment elsewhere – we are engaged to be married, and that would not be the behaviour of a pure and honourable woman._

 _Oh Anna, it is entirely within your power to put this situation right – my actions towards your sister, you know, were because of you. It is because I love you so much that I acted without thought and now sit imprisoned, alone and broken. I long for your company, for your love – I have done this for you, Anna – and if you do not love me – though I cannot bear to think what I may do if that is the case – at least put right these wrongs. Write to me, write to my father and exonerate me, explain this misunderstanding. It is your duty, Anna – to me, as your fiancée and true love, but also to your country._

 _Your true love – always –_

 _Hans_

Elsa put down the letters with shaking hands. Her mouth had gone dry and she hadn't realised that the floor of Anna's room had crystallised, the windows frosted with icy splinters and the legs of the desk and bed frozen to the ground like stalagmites.

So was angry; so, unspeakably angry. Her vision swum.

She could march down to the docks right now, walk across a sea that froze under her feet with a storm at her back and hurl such fury on the Southern Isles that by the time she was done – unleash a blizzard of such shrieking, unrelenting magnitude that every living thing would crumble and wither and die and Hans would be unrecognisable – snow on the wind – a shard of ice –

And Anna – her wonderful Anna, her sister, her reason and her sanity – Anna hadn't said a word about any of this.

Elsa could pick out every moment of manipulation in the letters, every vicious word seeping unwholesomely from the pages – but could Anna?

She could only imagine the burden her sister had been putting on herself.

Clearly, not all doors were open yet.


	18. My Father's Motto

**Notes:**

This is such a holding chapter... forgive me. I'll stick the next one up soon. _But_ , it does conclude the whole Anna-charity-work arc; next chapter we'll see the introduction of a new storyline.

Thanks, as ever, for your encouragement and reviews. I get a little overwhelmed by their kindness sometimes.

* * *

Outside the Children's Home – impromptu speech prepared – Anna zoomed about, confirming and re-confirming that everything was ready. She ushered townsfolk who had gathered to see the unveiling and bombarded Master Haugen with last-minute questions. Olaf followed as fast as his little legs would carry him.

 _"_ _Kristoffnsven!"_ Olaf waved. "Anna, look, they're coming this way!"

Anna glanced up, zooming briefly interrupted, and grinned sheepishly. "Hey! You came along!"

The grin was tentatively returned. "Of course we did. Wouldn't miss it for the world. How're you feeling?"

"Ok," Anna skilfully fielded Sven's enthusiastic greeting. "I think everything's ready. I think. Does it all look ok?"

"Anna, everything looks amazing."

She quietly glowed, and busied herself adjusting the enormous red ribbon and bow strung across the door. "I hope Elsa gets here soon. I don't want to cut this thing on my own."

En route, Elsa was battling an inner turmoil.

 _You have to speak to her._

 _You invaded her privacy!_

 _I had no choice._

 _You invaded her privacy!_

And Anna had been waiting for the Children's Home opening for months. She couldn't spoil it.

 _But –_

 _No._

The street was packed, though flanked by a train of attendants the crowd parted before her with waves and cheers. She caught sight of Anna, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf at the top of the stairs to the Children's Home – her sister was babbling excitedly, Kristoff hanging off every word, and Olaf, seeing Elsa, started jumping and waving.

"Hey _Elsa!_ Over here!"

Anna spun around and joined in the waving "Elsa! I wasn't sure you were going to make it!"

Ascending the steps, Elsa forced a smile. "I promised I would. Hi, Kristoff."

"Hi, Elsa."

"So," said Anna, breathlessly. "Now we're all here, I think we should be good to go – is it noon yet?"

As if on cue, the chime of church bells marked the hour.

Kristoff laughed, his eyes (Elsa noticed) never leaving Anna. "I guess so."

There was still an awkwardness about him – an embarrassment, she imagined – but there was something buoyant there too. For a second, Elsa forgot about the letters in fond exasperation for the pair.

Then the thought returned, and she fought to hold back the ice in her veins.

"I'll get out of your way," he continued, giving Sven a pat. "Come on, buddy."

As they disappeared into the crowd, Anna turned to her sister. "Ok. So uh, I think I'll start with that speech, all the thank yous – then we'll cut the ribbon, and invite people to come and have a look inside. And we'll stick around to answer any questions and – and it'll be ok?" She was bobbing up and down with a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

"That sounds like a plan to me." Elsa smiled tightly.

Anna turned to the chattering crowd for a second, then back to Elsa. "There's so many of them. How do I…?"

Elsa turned to the people and spread her arms wide. When she spoke her voice was loud and confident and carried through the street with a royal authority. "People of Arendelle."

Hush. People shushed each other.

"Thank you for being here today. Before the official opening, my sister, Princess Anna, would like to say a few words." She stepped back to give her sister room.

Anna cleared her throat and took a deep breath – like she saw Elsa do before addressing a crowd. She fiddled with the piece of paper they'd written the speech on that morning.

"Hi. Thanks so much for coming out today to be here for the opening of Arendelle's Home for Children. This is – a huge day for me. And I am so glad that you're here for it. Um," she glanced to Elsa, who nodded encouragingly. "So, I don't have too much to say, other than a lot of thanks. The idea for a Children's Home was initially given to me by the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer. He gave me all the encouragement and the inspiration, really, that we needed to get this project started – so thank you to him. Thank you to my sister for her belief in the project and a whole load of construction permissions I don't fully understand, and thank you to our patrons, without whom we wouldn't have had the money to do this at all. Thank you to our brilliant architect, Master Haugen, who worked tirelessly to take the idea and make it a vision. Thanks to all the workers, whose invaluable contributions of skill, time and effort made that vision a reality. So, thanks. To everyone."

She was very flustered, but so excited and nervous – in the crowd, Kristoff put his arm around Sven and smiled.

"So, uh, our vision is to ensure that no child has to ever sleep on the streets. The Home will provide food, shelter and will be working in collaboration with the city's guilds to find apprenticeships and employment for the homeless children of Arendelle, so they can fall on their feet." Anna glanced down at her notes. She was very glad Elsa had written them in her neat, legible script: this would be a lot harder if she were deciphering her own scrawls. "So – when we cut this ribbon," she waved a hand behind her, "Arendelle's Home for Children is officially open. And operational." She refolded the notes and put them in her pocket, turning to face Elsa. Master Haugen, who was stood beside the queen, offered a pair of spring scissors. Anna took them.

"So – ok – ahh," she turned them over in her hand, clearly doing some very quick thinking. "I'll hold them, and – "

Elsa placed her hand over Anna's so they were both holding the scissors. Anna's hand was clammy with nerves. "How's that?"

"Perfect," Anna enthused. "Let's do it!"

Together, they cut the ribbon. It fell away to a general cheer.

* * *

An hour or so later, the crowds were dispersing. Anna stood by the Children's Home's doors thanking the exiting townsfolk for coming. Kristoff wandered over to her.

"Hey."

"Hey!"

"Not a bad show, huh?"

Anna smiled, doling out a couple more 'thank yous'. "Not bad at all."

"You pleased?"

She nodded exuberantly. "Very. How was my speech?"

"Great. Thanks for the thanks, by the way."

She blushed very slightly under her freckles and shook a few more hands. "Oh, don't mention it. Thanks for… needing thanks."

Anna's attention was commandeered by a particularly frail but talkative grandmother. As they spoke about how Arendelle needed more excellent young women, Kristoff tried to come up with a witty reply.

The old woman finally left, and he said: "Sven wants to know why he didn't get a thanks, though."

At this, Anna laughed. Kristoff congratulated himself.

"I knew I forgot someone! Tell him I'll make it up to him in carrots."

"Ah. Well. You might get away with it then."

Anna smiled. "Speaking of carrots, I am starving. Do you… do you want to come to the castle for some food? Or some tea? Or, actually, Elsa showed me this really cool new drink the other day, it's from Spain and it's coffee with ice cream in it."

Kristoff rubbed the back of his head and glanced at her. "That'd be – sure. Lunch sounds great."

"No ice cream and coffee?"

"I'll steer clear."

Anna scanned the area for her sister's blonde head and was surprised to catch her eye instead. It was like she'd been looking at her.

Anna waved her over.

"Elsa? Can we go get some lunch? I think we're pretty much done here – right?"

Elsa nodded; hesitated. "Of course. There's something I need to talk to you about, actually, Anna – "

"Conversations are always best over lunch I think," she took her sister's arm and glanced about. "Where's Olaf?"

"Oh, he's discovered the banisters. But – Anna, I think – "

"I'm on it!" And she bounded away to retrieve the snowman.

There was a moment; Kristoff and Elsa exchanged glances.

"Anna invited me to lunch," he said, gruffly.

 _Dammit._ Ordinarily, this would be great news, but –

"Kristoff, I need to speak to Anna about some things. Can we postpone that invitation?"

He did a very good job at hiding his crestfallen look.

"Sure." A brief pause. "It sounds – serious…?"

Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. "It – yeah. I'm sorry, Kristoff."

At that moment, Anna reappeared with a slightly hangdog Olaf. "… Master Haugen can get pretty touchy though, so don't worry too much," Anna smiled down at him. "He'll get over it."

Elsa decided she'd rather not know.

"We ready to go?" Anna addressed this question to both of them.

Kristoff cleared his throat slightly. "I uh, I'm going to have to pass on lunch, Anna," he looked apologetic. "Thanks anyway, though."

Elsa cut across. "It's my fault, Anna – I have some things I need to speak to you about privately. Kristoff, why don't you come to dinner?" An anxious glance at Anna. "Is that ok? It's just that this – can't wait."

Anna looked slightly bemused, but nodded amenably. "Ok. That'd be great." She smiled at Kristoff a little shyly. "I'll – see you then."


	19. I Got You

**Notes:**

Big ole chapter today. I hope the interraction between Elsa and Anna rings true for you all. I discussed this with my own sister quite a bit, and we decided how we'd react to the same situation - and then Frozen'ed it up a bit.

In terms of the place names used, they're based around what I believe is the approximate 'location' of Arendelle. I'm going to be having some fun with geography over the next few chapters.

BFM x

* * *

They returned to the castle quietly.

"So what's up?" Anna asked as they sat down to plates of sandwiches. Elsa had sent Olaf away: it must be serious. "Everything ok?"

"Let's eat something first. You can't think on an empty stomach."

Anna was intrigued – but hungry.

As they ate, she made several unsuccessful stabs at conversation – how Kristoff seemed a lot more open today, how the speech had gone really well, how she'd remembered to check her notes but keep eye contact, like Elsa had said – but this was all met with half-hearted replies and non-committal nods.

Finally, sandwiches gone, Elsa spoke. She fiddled with her hands.

"Anna, I have something to tell you."

There was an immediate note of guilt that made Anna anxious.

"What?"

"Anna – I'm so sorry. I'm going to say a few things now and I'd like you to not interrupt me: please hear me out."

Anna nodded, puzzled.

Elsa took a deep breath, and placed three letters on the table.

"Anna, this morning I went to your room to find those letters from Hans. Please don't interrupt," she held up a hand as Anna opened her mouth and would not met her sister's eye. "You've been acting strangely since they arrived – especially _when_ they arrive. I hoped you'd come and speak to me about it, but you didn't. I didn't know what else to do, Anna. For all I knew, they could be threatening letters, blackmail – I had to put the safety of Arendelle – and _your_ safety – first. If Hans was threatening you, it becomes a matter of national security.

"I found the letters, Anna. I read them. I know," she again held up her hand as Anna, outraged, went to speak. "I know. I am so, so sorry, Anna. I didn't know what else to do."

Anna would no longer be silent.

"How _could_ you, Elsa, that's – their my private – it's _none_ of your business, and – ' _national security'_ – "

"Please sit down."

Anna would not.

"I can't _believe_ you! What the hell make you think you can – "

"Anna, _please_ , let me just talk about what's in the letters – then you can scream and shout at me as much as you want, I promise," Elsa dropped her head into her hands. "God knows I deserve it."

Anna fell silent, seething, but did not sit.

"Anna, Hans is _manipulating_ you. Those letters – they made me – God, I could _kill_ him!"

Now Elsa was standing, sweeping up and down. Her hands ran back through her hair and there was an ominous glitter of ice behind her as she walked. "To lie to you, to spit his poison at you – I could eat his heart, I swear – and for you not to _tell_ me!" She whirled around, terrible and angry, and saw Anna instinctively flinch, shielding her chest.

Crippling, staggering guilt.

The ice receded.

"Oh God, Anna, I'm – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout, I – "

Anna sunk down into her chair, all the fight and fire gone from her. "No, it's ok. You're right. I should have told you."

She sounded close to tears, and it broke Elsa's heart.

She went to her and hovered for a moment, unsure what to do. She settled on pacing again.

"Anna, I'm your _sister_ – I'm here for you now, and I know I haven't been before – but I am, now, and – Anna." Her voice cracked very slightly. "Anna, I know what I hypocrite I must sound, but – let me in. Please."

The song of their childhood hung like an echo between them.

"I – I'm so unsure, Elsa," Anna finally confessed. "Sometimes, I believe every word. And sometimes I know he's lying. I can't even figure it out in my own mind, and I _know_ it's not true, but sometimes – I don't know." She finally looked up at her sister with desperate eyes. "But it's my fault. It's my fault what's happened to him. And – if we're engaged, then – and _war_ – if people _die_ , because of _me,_ or if Arendelle – and I've brought this whole thing upon us by being such an _idiot_ – whether or not he's lying – and if he isn't then that's an innocent man that I've – but I can't, I can't marry him Elsa, it's not – he's not – "

Anna was either about to break the furniture or burst into tears.

Elsa ran to her in a way a queen should never run and folded her sister up into her arms. Anna's shoulder's shook and Elsa's eyes were glossed with grief.

"You're ok, Anna," she choked. "I got you."

For a few minutes, neither of them said a word. They stood in the hug, each the other's foundation.

Finally, they pulled back a little; Elsa put a hand on her sister's face.

"You're not on your own, Anna. Not anymore. We're going to fix this thing. Together."

Anna sniffed, and nodded.

"All right, so – Hans. You know what he's like better than I do. Let's walk through what happened when you got back to the castle." They sat down.

Anna placed both palms on the table and thought hard. "Ok. So – Kristoff brought me back. We got to the gates, and they opened. Gerda, Kai and Greta were there and they helped me into the castle. Kristoff said to find Hans, and to make sure I was safe."

Elsa nodded. "Then what happened?"

"They were asking me where I'd been, what was going on, they said Hans was in the library – I don't remember most of it," Anna rubbed her face. "I was just concentrating on finding Hans."

"But you remember the walk to the library? Lucidly?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah. Kai picked me up at one point because I fell over."

"All right. What happened when you got to the library? Every detail you can remember."

"Right. Hans turned around, and I sort of – fell into him. I was just trying to get him to kiss me, which I supposed must have seemed a bit crazy – Gerda had everyone leave, because – you know, privacy – and Hans asked what had happened." Anna squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember. "Then – I said 'Elsa struck me with her powers' and he said, 'you said she'd never hurt you'. I said I'd been wrong," she glanced at Elsa apologetically. "Then we went to the sofa to sit down. I told him what Grandpabbie said – only an act of true love could save me – and he came in to kiss me, and said," she swallowed. Elsa could tell how vivid this was, and took Anna's hand. "He said, 'oh Anna, if only there was someone out there who loved you'."

Elsa's grip tightened in anger.

"But – I mean – I could have dreamt that. Most of my life – I wasn't sure if anyone loved me. I didn't think you did," she said it in a tiny voice. "And so it… it would make sense as a dream."

Elsa shook her head, furious at herself. "Anna, no. How many dreams have you had where you're in the same place? That doesn't happen, we're always in some fantastic location – " she stopped. Thought. "Anna, in your heart, do you think it was a dream?"

Anna hesitated. "Well – I didn't, but – now I'm not so sure."

Elsa interlaced her fingers and stared unseeingly into the distance. "All right. What happened then?"

Anna started fiddling with a strand of hair. "Um. He shut the curtains and put out the fire. I fell on the floor. He explained the whole inheritance thing, and then left. He locked the door."

Elsa nodded. "Good. Ok. Then what?"

"Ok. Um. I must have been there for about – ten minutes, I guess? I was too cold to move, really, but I tried to open the door. In the end I just curled up to keep warm. Then the door knob started going, and Olaf came in. He'd unlocked the door with his carrot? I mean, God knows how that works, but – "

Elsa had frozen, mouth open. "Olaf _definitely_ unlocked the door?"

Anna nodded, confused. "Yeah, but – "

"Anna, if Olaf _unlocked_ the door then the door must have been locked in the first place. If Hans thought you were dead – like he says in the letters – why would he lock the door? That wouldn't make any sense."

Anna opened her mouth to reply, but stopped, thinking.

"And Anna, if that isn't true, then can't you see everything else is a lie as well? He's playing you, Anna. He knows what to say. Here – when he talks about honour, and here where he talks about his 'incarceration' – he knows how kind you are, and that you couldn't stand that. And where he talks about true love, and your engagement, he knows how you feel about those things. And where he talks about _me_ – he's trying to drive us apart, Anna. If that first point is a lie – which it has to be, if Olaf unlocked the door – can't you see everything else is too?"

She looked desperately at her sister, willing her to see every moment of manipulation in the letters spread out before them.

Anna didn't say anything for a moment, but picked up the letters, scanning over the words.

"I pretty much know them by heart," she said, finally. "I'm so embarrassed to say it, but it's true. I've been reading them every night, thinking about it, trying to tell myself that it's not true. But I can't. It's like he's – there – in my brain – reminding me that's it's my fault. Everything is my fault." Elsa could have sworn her sister shuddered. "I can't get him out of my head."

Elsa stared at the letters. "Anna – you don't – listen to me. Do you think you love him?"

Anna looked up quickly, all wide-eyes. "I don't know."

Elsa sat back in her chair, heaving a sigh. She drew snowflakes on the ceiling, thinking.

"Anna, I've never been _in_ love. But I do _love_. And I don't know if there's much of a difference. I think love can be different – you don't love everyone in the same way – but they all have things in common. The people I love, I have no doubt about. I want to be around them, and they make me happy. You, mama, papa – even Gerda and Kai – I love you. I never doubt that I love you. I'm never afraid or scared to see you. You are what makes me happy. And I will always, always put your needs before mine. Is that how you feel about Hans?"

Anna immediately shook her head.

"Then, Anna, you don't love him. And we know he's lying – all his talk of duty and honour is a way to get to you – so you don't owe him a thing."

Anna sat very quietly for a moment.

"You're so wise, Elsa."

Elsa laughed. "You make me sound really old."

"A wise old owl." She took the end of her plaits and made a moustache. She put on a deep voice. "Love is a many layered thing, young Anna. You have much to learn."

Elsa grinned. "I'll freeze your hair in that position if you're not careful."

The tension and anger was gone and the two sisters' laughter mingled in the air. Anna took Elsa's hand across the table.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you what Hans had been writing."

"I'm sorry I went into your room. It was wrong."

"What are we… what are we going to do?"

Elsa considered. "Well, first of all I'm going to keep these letters. We might need them as proof later. Second, I'm going to write to Queen Agnes and explain. I think… I might need to go to the Southern Isles."

Anna paled.

"Don't worry. It's only a might. But I think it would show willing, and it means I won't have to wait a week for replies. Thirdly, I think you need to talk to Kristoff. He deserves to know what's been happening."

Anna again looked uncomfortable, but nodded.

"And lastly, I think you need time away from Arendelle." She sighed. "I'd been sort of saving this as a get-out card if this conversation went really badly, but… I think it might still be a good idea. You need to get away to somewhere you can just forget about Hans and get yourself together again. I'm going to – this is really difficult – Anna, I'd like you to represent Arendelle at the royal christening in Corona."

Anna gasped.

"But – you said – "

"I know. But I've been thinking it through, and… I think this will be good for you. Responsibility-wise, and in terms of getting away from this Hans mess."

Anna squealed and threw her arms around Elsa.

" _But_ ," she said, sternly. "On a couple of conditions."

Anna nodded, sitting back in her seat and grinning ear to ear.

"Mama and papa were also headed to Corona. They thought it was an easy journey, and it normally is. It's a quiet bit of sea. Because of that, they weren't prepared – and I am not going to make that mistake. You'll be travelling overland as far south as Kristiansand and from there staying as close to the coast as possible without getting into the Southern Isle's territorial waters. That keeps you pretty much out of the open sea. I am sending guards with you, and you'll be taking the most experienced crew. The ship is going to be loaded with cork. If anything does happen, you need to get to those cork block. You understand?"

"Yes."

"I know that we can't just stop all travel to Corona because of what happened."

Anna nodded. "They're family."

"The letter arrived about three weeks ago – but you know what uncle Thomas is like. The christening isn't actually for another week. It's about a four day journey."

"But… that's really close to The Southern Isles. Will they not… if they see an Arendellian ship that close to the shore…?"

"Hans' mentions of war are totally empty threats. I've heard nothing of the sort."

"But still. Would it not…" she trailed off, thoughtful. Elsa saw the unmistakable grin of an idea spread across her sister's face.

"What?"

"I could go disguised."

 _"_ _What?"_

"Just past the Southern Isles. No Arendelle flags, no royal guests… if I'm going from Kristiansand anyway, could I not just get on a merchant ship down to Corona? Nobody would have to know!"

Elsa shook her head. "Absolutely not. That is a terrible idea, you'd not be able to take enough guards, you'd – "

"I think it would be a really bad idea to risk anything with the Southern Isles. And if you won't let me go via the North Sea, then I've got no choice but to go past them. And that first letter from Queen Agnes said that Hans has got a lot of control over King – he could spin anything. I don't want to risk starting something."

Elsa put her face in her hands. Anna definitely had a point. But… this was…

"Ok, maybe. But you're taking a few guards. They don't have to be in uniform, but you're taking them." She thought for a second. "And you're taking Kristoff, too. I know that he'd do anything to keep you safe – especially on something as ridiculous as this."

Anna's stomach flip-flopped nervously, but she nodded. "Deal."

"Woah, no deal yet. I need to think this over."

"Potential deal?"

"Potential deal."


	20. Method Acting

**Notes:**

I'm sorry there's been such a delay in posting! Life's got a bit hectic this week, but here are two new chapters for you.

The story's going to be taking a bit of a new direction for a while - but the narrative will still be popping back to Arendelle and the Southern Isles. I miss Elsa if I don't write enough of her. Let me know your thoughts on this new arc.

As ever, your feedback is wonderful. Thanks so much for keeping up with this story - you make my day, all of you.

BFM x

* * *

"Please please _please_ be careful."

It was mid-morning. The sky was overcast and whilst the slight chill in the air didn't bother Elsa, Kristoff was wearing a jumper, and Anna –

Well, Anna was not in her usual clothes.

It had been Kristoff who'd come up with the idea for the disguise. Or at least, Kristoff who'd inspired it. He and Elsa had been talking ice over dinner, when she'd asked if he would need any more furs for the upcoming winter season.

 _"_ _Oh, no, I think I'm all set. Sami clothes are designed to last."_

 _"_ _Sami?"_

 _"_ _Sure. My birth parents were Sami – at least, I think they were. And there's a big thing between the Trolls and the Sami – Grandpabbie's always having meetings with them."_

Everything had just kind of snowballed from there, really.

Kristoff didn't really look any different. Anna, however, was in a dark blue dress that fell just past her knees, patterned with bright red flowers; its hem was the same shocking shade, as were the cuffs and the stockings that were just visible above the long brown boots she wore – complete with pointed, curled toes like Kristoff's. About her waist was a belt woven in greens, reds, blues, yellows, and over her shoulders (in the same colours) was a sort of wide, knitted scarf with fronds that fell almost to her waist. Completing the look was sort of tall bonnet – bright red, heavily decorated. With ear flaps.

The whole effect was rather alarming – especially with her hair – but charming in a way. They would have been hard pushed to find a better disguise.

"We'll be ok, Elsa. I promise." Anna pulled her worry of a sister into a hug.

"Don't make promises you're not sure you can keep," Elsa muttered back.

"I'll write when we get there. And basically every day until we're back," Anna was surprised to find herself a little emotional under all the excitement. "It's going to be weird not seeing you every day. I'd kind of got used to it."

The three guards – the three _enormous_ guards, dressed in similar Sami attire – were already seated in a horse-drawn sled of their own, solemn and imposing. Kristoff had said reindeers would be more in character, but unfortunately (Elsa reminded him) the only reindeer that had ever been to the castle was Sven. Nestled somewhat uncomfortably at the back was Gerda, in a rather spectacular Sami-inspired matriarch's outfit.

A trusted female companion had been a must – and Gerda was the natural choice – but Elsa had spent days debating which guards to send, weighing up every possible scenario. Eventually she'd settled on these three: Ralf, Henrik and Oskar. They were all experienced, trustworthy, very competent swimmers, and enormous.

How much trouble could Anna realistically get into with four mountainous men around to protect her?

Kristoff heaved the last trunk into the back of his sled. "Are we really going to need this much stuff?"

"It's good to be prepared for anything. And there are _six_ of us going."

"But three of these trunks are yours."

Anna flapped a hand. "Dresses, shoes, girl stuff. You wouldn't understand."

Elsa sighed, and pulled Anna into another hug. " _Please_ be careful." Over the shoulder of the embrace, she looked Kristoff square in the eye. "Take care of my sister."

He nodded, and didn't break the eye contact. "I will."

Anna crouched down to the little snowman standing beside Elsa.

"I'm going to miss you, Olaf."

"You too, Anna. Be safe." He threw himself into a warm hug, and got his nose tangled in some of the fronds on Anna's dress.

"You know," said Anna, straightening up. "I think this disguise is growing on me." She did a twirl. "What do you think?"

"I think you look great," said Kristoff. His hand jumped up to rub the back of his head as he realised what he'd said. "I mean – it's a great disguise. You don't really get Sami princesses." He busied himself adjusting Sven's harness.

"Thank you," Anna glowed a little. "I guess – we're pretty much ready to go."

Elsa nodded. "Yeah." She took a deep breath. "All right. Safe journey. Write to me as soon as you reach Corona. You know where you're going?" This final part was addressed to Kristoff, now up in the seat of the sled.

"Yep. South east through Odda to Haukeli, then due south to Kristiansand. Catch a merchant ship down to Corona."

Elsa nodded again. "Ok. I can't really keep you any longer." Anna had now hopped up into the sled beside Kristoff. Elsa took her hand. "Be safe."

"I will."

And with a flick of Sven's reins the convoy of sleds was gone, disappearing out of the gates.

* * *

The plan was to reach Kristiansand in just under two days. They'd have to stay a night at an inn – and by Kristoff's reckoning, Haukeli was the most logical place to do this.

"It's pretty much halfway, so it should split travel. Believe me, we don't want to be sitting in these sleds for any longer than necessary."

"Ok. That's ok, I've got money." Anna wriggled round in her seat and started rummaging in one of the trunks. When she plonked back down, a rather ornate leather purse was clutched triumphantly in her hand. It bulged with money.

Kristoff almost did a double take.

"Ok, so, maybe don't go waving that about too much. How much have you _got_ in there?"

"Only about two and a half thousand speciedaler, I think."

Kristoff was speechless for a second. "…Two and a half _thousand_?"

"Sure, I figured better safe than sorry. How much do you reckon a room will be in Haukeli?"

Kristoff looked ahead at the approaching horizon, lost for words. "Maybe sixty spec? Maybe?"

She was surprised. "Oh. That's great!"

"Yeah. It's pretty standard, price-wise. Probably not the best idea to go in there waving two and a half thousand around. Why don't we let Gerda handle the money?"

Anna conceded.

A few moments passed in slightly awkward silence.

"So, what's our cover story?"

He glanced down at her. "Huh?"

"Our cover story. Who are we pretending to be?"

"…Sami people."

"Yeah, but where are we _from_? How do we _know_ each other? Why are we going to _Corona_?"

Kristoff shook his head with a slight smile, glancing behind him to check that Gerda and the guards were still in tow. "All right, what were you thinking?"

She considered. "You said Grandpabbie met with the Sami sometimes? Do you know where they're from?" Unconsciously, she tugged the red cap down further over her ears.

"I know there's a lot up in Snåsa. The people Grandpabbie normally meet live further south though, near Lom, Tynset."

"I like the name Lom. Let's be from there. Who are we?"

He smiled, finding the slight awkward edge there'd been since they left Arendelle slowly softening. "Hey, this was your idea. Who do _you_ want us to be?"

At this, Kristoff saw Anna's mind begin to work at a hundred miles per hour. He wondered if she had any idea how transparent she was sometimes, and as she began talking, he got lost in the vivid world of her imagination.

"Ok, how's this: we're a family, travelling down from Lom in search of a new life. Gerda's a widow, and after the death of her husband – he was ill, she knew it was coming – decided that it would be best for all of us if we moved south to make a fresh start. She'd always wanted to go to Corona, and decided it was time to live the dream," she paused for breath, eyes faraway and hands gesticulating emphatically. "Ralf, Henrik and me are her kids. We kind of look alike – you know, ginger and blonde, blue eyes – so that's plausible. Then… Oskar's a cousin. He's always wanted to travel, so decided to tag along. And you're adopted."

Kristoff interjected, indignant.

"Why am _I_ adopted?"

"Because you don't look anything like me and my brothers."

He jabbed a finger towards his head. "I'm blonde!"

She gave him a knowing look. " _Noses_ , Kristoff. We've all got pointy noses."

"You have a tiny nose."

"But _pointy_."

He sighed, recognising defeat. "Fine. I'm adopted. How did that happen?"

"Gerda found you, alone – no, _wait_ , I have a better idea. _You're_ from Corona!"

"You're getting way too into this."

"Nononono, hear me out." She spread her hands wide before her, setting the scene. "When you were just a baby, your parents brought you here, to Arendelle. They left you in the care of a Sami village before disappearing – _mysteriously_. We took you into our family and our culture, raising you as our own. Now, you're determined to seek your homeland and find out the _truth_."

She held the final syllable and paused, impressively, hands still out before her.

After the drama of the moment faded, she turned to him and grinned.

"So? What do you think?"

"I think you're crazy."

She gave his arm a gentle shove – like she used to, before the letters, when they'd walk together through the streets of Arendelle, talking and teasing, hands brushing each other. His heart stumbled.

"Good crazy, right?"

"Good crazy."

There was a moment of silence – considerably less awkward than the last – before Anna spoke again.

"I'm going to fill in the others about the cover story. Can we stop for a minute and I'll switch sleds?"


	21. Anywhere

When they arrived into Haukeli, night had fallen. It was reaching those autumn months where, in the far north, the night far outlasted the day and the sky was lit only by the never-ending dance of the aurora.

Anna shivered a little and was glad of her Sami shawl as they found Sven and the horses a stable for the night and headed toward the town's one, tiny inn.

A fire crackled merrily in the grate as Henrik pushed open the door. Anna and Gerda followed, and bringing up the rear were Oskar, Ralf and Kristoff – laden with trunks. The inn was sparsely populated, with only a few patrons nursing pints and a single barmaid restocking glasses.

Gerda approached the counter.

"So sorry to trouble you, but could I ask if there are any rooms available for tonight? My family and I are looking for a place to rest."

The barmaid appraised them, clearly taken off guard by Gerda's impeccable politeness. "Sure. How many you looking for?"

"Just two – if you have any large enough for all four of my boys. "

Indeed, they cut an imposing assemblage with their broad shoulders, stony faces and apparently effortless grip on the trunks.

And they were heavy trunks. Anna had packed most of them.

The barmaid laughed at this. "I'm sure we've got something. Give me a second." She produced a battered logbook from under the bar and ran her finger down to the current date. "Two rooms. Yes, we've got a couple tonight. Will you be needing breakfast tomorrow?"

"That would be lovely."

The barmaid nodded and made a note in the logbook. "Hundred for the rooms, and breakfast is three per person. Hundred and eighteen spec."

Gerda rummaged in the little bag they'd strategically transferred some of Anna's vast haul into and handed over a couple of notes and some coins.

"Ta."

More rummaging beneath the bar.

"Here's your keys. Up the stairs, first two doors on your left."

They lugged the trunks upstairs and stowed them carefully in the two little rooms. Anna was intensely curious about every detail.

"Look at this Gerda! What are these beds _made_ of?" She plonked herself down on one experimentally. "It's so… robust."

Gerda fussed about, laying as many pillows and blankets as she could find on Anna's bed. "My lady, this will not be what you are used to, so if there is anything not to your liking, do let me know and I will do what I can – "

"It's all right, Gerda," she smiled. "It's kind of exciting. An adventure!"

"An adventure it may be for you, Princess Anna, but a worry it is for me. Now, is that more comfortable? I'll open the window to let some air in – and we'll get you into your nightgown. And I must speak to the guards about standing watch – "

"Nightgown? No!" She sprung up, heading for the door. "I want to go back downstairs, see what it's like! And we don't need anyone to keep watch, Gerda," another smile. A very naïve smile, Gerda thought. "It'll be fine! And we don't want to be too obvious or anything. We're just a normal Sami family travelling down from Lom, remember?"

Gerda was unconvinced.

"All the same, my lady, it will not do to be reckless."

Anna took the servant's hands, squeezing them tightly in her own. "It'll be ok, Gerda. I've got you and Kristoff and three huge guards with me. I know I'm safe."

Gerda sighed. "That's is very sweet of you my lady, but your sister has entrusted us with your well-being. Every last one of us would lay down our life for you, my lady."

Anna was deeply touched – and surprised – by this. Her mind drifted briefly back to a conversation she'd had with Elsa just after the Thaw: _being a princess is weird, isn't it?_

"Gerda, you looked exhausted. Get some sleep – I promise that I won't go anywhere without Ralf and Henrik and Oskar."

A knock at the door.

"My lady?"

Gerda hurried over and shooed Henrik inside. "Don't you 'my lady' her in a place you might be heard!" She hissed. "Have you lost your mind?"

Henrik hung in his head and bowed to Anna. "My apologies, ma'am; Princess Anna," he turned back to Gerda. "Ma'am, I came to ask about arrangements for tonight. Oskar needs rest, being the driver – but Ralf and I propose taking turns on watch. The Ice Master also seems keen to assist, but I wasn't sure what her majesty the Queen had said to you about his role here – "

"Queen Elsa made it clear to me that Master Bjorgman is also here to protect the princess, Henrik. Let us not forget how much he has already done for her."

Henrik nodded. "Understood, ma'am. In that case, Ralf, Kristoff and myself can all – "

Anna chipped in. "You know, there's really no need, I will be ok – "

Gerda shot her a stern look that only only a mother figure could. Anna felt silent.

"In the interests of discretion, I suggest you stand your guard in here – to stand outside would surely raise suspicion."

Henrik nodded. "Understood, ma'am."

"However, Princess Anna wishes to go downstairs for a spell. I fear she will not rest until she has done so."

Henrik nodded again. Anna wondered if his head moved in any other way. "Yes ma'am. Myself and Ralf will accompany her."

"Very good. My lady," finally, Gerda turned back to her. "No more than an hour. We must reach Kristiansand tomorrow – you'll need to be up early."

Anna grinned broadly. "Thanks Gerda! Get some rest. I'll be back soon."

As she turned to the door, she found herself face to face with Henrik. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before saluting. "Shall we?"

The stony-faced guard felt himself almost smile.

* * *

Downstairs, they found a small corner table, where Henrik and Ralf could sit with their backs to the wall and keep a watchful eye on everyone in the room. Kristoff had needed very little persuading to also join, and sat opposite them next to a very excited Anna.

"I've never seen anything like this before," she enthused, turning round in her seat to drink in the room.

Kristoff looked at her in amusement. "I bet you've never sleep in anything like those beds before either."

Anna shook her head. "Gerda's put about a hundred blankets on it, so I'm sure it'll be ok."

"You've read The Princess and the Pea, right?"

"Of course! It's in the library – honestly, that story basically gave me an identity crisis when I first read it. Did you read it as a kid?"

Kristoff was saved from a fumbled answer by the arrival of the barmaid – it had actually been one of the stories he'd borrowed from the castle library to practice reading, before Elsa took him under her wing, and it had made him laugh out loud thinking about Anna –

"What can I get for you? We've got some of our very own home-brewed beer, as well as some from old Herre Abel down the road – though ours is better, if I do say so myself."

Ralf shook his head curtly. "We're all right."

"Oh, Ralf, have a drink!" Anna smiled, and looked up at the barmaid. "My brother thinks he can't have a drink because he needs to look after me. I've never been outside our hometown of Lom before."

Kristoff had to stop himself from sighing as he glanced down at her earnest little face. Of course she was getting into the backstory.

The barmaid looked interested. "That's a good brother you've got yourself there. What brings you from Lom?"

Anna looked like she'd never been asked a more exciting question.

"Well, our father passed away, and ma has always wanted to travel down to Corona. We figured it was time for us to move on."

"I'm so sorry. Losing a parent is hard."

Anna nodded. She hesitated for a second, caught up in her own life. " – thank you. We've still got ma though, and it's good to get out of Lom."

"Well, I can see why your brother's worried. Haukeli's a good, safe town though – full of good people and good streets. You must've been travelling a few days then, down from Lom?"

Anna opened her mouth to respond, but Henrik got there first. "Aye. Two days."

The barmaid nodded. "Well, that's definitely a journey that deserves a drink. I must be able to tempt you with something."

Henrik hesitated, threw half a glance at Anna, and nodded. "Go on Ralf, have a drink. I'll stay sober."

Again, Ralf hesitated, but nodded: Henrik was a superior officer. "I'll have one of your home-brewed."

"Lovely. And yourself?" She looked at Kristoff.

"Akvavit, thanks."

Anna was intrigued. "Ooh, I'll have one of those too, that sounds awesome – "

 _"_ _No!"_ Kristoff, Henrik and Ralf all immediately spoke together.

The barmaid laughed. "Might be a bit strong if you're not used to it, love. How about a half pint of me home-brewed?"

Slightly disappointed, she nodded. "All right, thank you."

As the barmaid trotted off, Henrik leaned forward. "Sorry for cutting across you there, my lady," he muttered. "I wasn't too sure how good your geography was."

* * *

An hour or so later, Kristoff found himself at the bar, waiting to pay for the drinks. He'd refused both Anna's money and persistent nagging to try some akvavit, promising her that they'd find some back in Arendelle. Maybe. Completely oblivious to the waiting barmaid, he stood looking over at Anna coaxing conversation out of the two stiff-backed guards.

"Sweet girl, your sister."

He looked round. "Huh? Oh, she'd not my sister. Definitely not my sister."

The barmaid looked confused.

"I mean – not technically." He sighed, resigning himself to Anna's ridiculous cover story. "I'm adopted."

"Ah, I see. And going with them to – Corona, was it, she said? Ten forty."

Kristoff handed over the money and nodded, looking over at Anna again. "I'd go anywhere with her."


	22. Esteem

**Notes:**

I don't know if anyone remembers the 'optional cobble-busters' on Kristoff's sled from _How Do You Take Your Tea_ , but they make a bit of a cameo here.

Lots of dorky Kristanna in this chapter, and a bit of Elsa as well - I missed her.

 **Nerdy stuff:**

I think I've got the travel times for the roadtrip about right - my Arendelle is Norway (weird Disney-verse Norway where Trolls live in valleys and heirs are born with ice-powers). As such, the distances and places I'm using for the journey are all based on Norwegian maps. And estimated sled-speed.

BFM x

* * *

They were back in the sleds again. Anna wouldn't stop yawning.

"Are you seriously that tired? We've been up for hours now."

" _Yes_. I didn't even know what six-a-m looked like until this morning."

Kristoff shook his head. "You're impossible."

She scowled – but yawned halfway through. "Remind me why we had such an early start?"

Sighing, he repeated what he'd already said that morning. Twice. "If we want to get to Kristiansand today, we need all the daylight we can get. Trust me, we do not want to be finding somewhere to stay the night at the docks."

"What do you know about docks? You're a _mountain_ man."

It was by now about half-past nine in the morning. Anna had tried napping once they'd got en route, but to no avail: they were on a reasonably well-travelled route, but occasionally they would hit a pot-hole that would make the whole sled jolt. After several incidents involving Anna's kneecaps and the top of the sled's footwell, she'd given up on sleep and settled on grumbling.

"I go down to the docks sometimes. We ship most of our ice out to England."

Anna was intrigued. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. Elsa has me write up entire reports on our exports – where to, how much, what ship…"

She looked up at him, and attempted to tame some strands of hair that the wind blew across her face and into her mouth. "Like report reports? I don't know about any of this. I mean, I know I read through the Official Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer documents with you, but – my memory is terrible."

"It's not that bad, it's just that you – " he glanced down at her. "No, you're right, it is terrible."

At that moment, they hit a particularly large pot-hole.

Anna's knee smacked against the top of the footwell and Kristoff let out a particularly inventive expletive before pulling Sven to a halt and leaning over the side of the sled to check the axel hadn't splintered.

Rubbing her knee, Anna looked at him in shock. " _What_ did you just say?"

"Sorry, sorry – please don't ever repeat that. Just – hold on."

Anxiously, he jumped out of the sled and crouched to examine the wheels. There didn't seem to be any noticeable damage.

"Sorry. I thought we'd busted the axel."

A few metres behind them, Gerda, Henrik, Oskar and Ralf's sled slowed to a stop. "Everything all right?" Henrik called.

"Yeah, sorry – pot-hole. We're all good." He offered them a smile before straightening up.

Anna didn't even seem to notice, but continued to nurse her knee and looked at him wryly.

"Does your mother know you use that language? Or did you pick it up at the _docks_?"

He glared at her, unimpressed, and jumped back into the sled. "Go, Sven. For a girl who claimed she was 'so tired she was going to cry' this morning, you're very on the ball."

Anna stuck her tongue out. "The wind is waking me up. So – reports. Reports?"

He shrugged. "There's not too much to tell really. I write them, Elsa reads them. End of."

"But you go to the docks to log them? What's it like on the ships?"

To her surprise, Kristoff looked a little embarrassed.

"Er – I don't know. This will be my first time on one."

"Whaaat? Me too! I don't know why, I just assumed you'd been on one. Being a man of the world and all."

Kristoff gave her another look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know. You know loads of stuff and you've done loads of things. You've been, like, everywhere."

Never, in his entire life, had anyone ever told Kristoff that he 'knew loads of stuff'. He looked at her incredulously.

She flushed. "I mean, you do! Loads of stuff. Like snow anchors and directions and how to make food and how to fix things and how to _make things_ and climbing and you know all the places in Arendelle. And your family are _love experts_ , I mean – "

If this hadn't been Anna, he'd have thought he was being mocked.

"Are you serious?"

She looked at him, confused. "Of course I am."

"Huh." He turned forward again, eyes on the horizon.

Anna waited for him to continue. When he did not, she prodded.

"'Huh' what?"

"Just… huh."

She huffed.

There was a pause.

"I don't really know much at all. _You're_ the one who knows stuff."

Anna pulled on a strand of her fringe. "Sure, history and Latin and music. But I don't know how to _do_ anything. You know all of that." She focused intently on the strand. "I think that's amazing."

Kristoff wasn't quite sure how to respond.

After a moment, he settled for a gruff, "Thanks."

She grinned sheepishly.

There was quiet for a moment: just the rumble of the wheels on the road and the rhythm of Sven's hooves. Kristoff glanced behind to check Gerda and the guards were still in tow.

Anna's thoughts wandered to all the things Kristoff could do. She wondered where he'd learnt it all, the going and making and doing, and whether she'd ever pick it up.

 _Unlikely_ , she thought. _Do you not remember trying to climb that mountain? And when you nearly cut your thumb off in the kitchen? And when he kissed you and you didn't know what to do with your hands?_

Anna went a little bit pink remembering that.

"You're deep in thought."

"Huh? Oh, no," she rushed. "Just… in a world of my own."

 _But I could learn what to do with my hands_ , she theorised, _with a bit of practice. If he still wanted to practice. I mean – awh, geez._

"Kristoff?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

The corner of his mouth twitched, remembering himself saying the exact same thing to Elsa a few weeks ago. "You already have."

"Doyouwannatalkaboutwhatsbeengoingon? I mean, whilst I have you – trapped in a sled. In a totally non-weird way. Just that – we can't be interrupted, or… anything. Really. If you know what I mean?"

She wasn't exactly sure where this new-found courage had come from. She suspected it had something to do with the sled. There was something bizarrely thought-provoking and philosophical about the world rolling past them, beautiful and serene, dotted with flurries of life.

Kristoff felt his stomach lurch unpleasantly. Driving gave him a good excuse to keep his eyes ahead – but she was right about the trapping, there was literally _no way_ he could avoid the question.

"Er – I – sure."

She nodded, and looked once more at the golden-leaved trees and the forested hills around them. Arendelle was beautiful.

"I'm sorry I've been so distant lately. It's _nothing_ you've done – literally, nothing at all. You're – it's these letters. From Hans. I don't know – if Elsa said anything," the grass on either side of the road was green, she noted, though fading in some places. "But basically, Hans has been writing some pretty bad stuff. I thought it was real, for a while – that I'd invented the whole thing. He made me think that maybe I was crazy, or that I'd dreamed it – that I'd made a terrible mistake – but Elsa proved that wrong." They were coming up to a little river, and the water tumbled over rocks and stones, oblivious to them and their impromptu heart-to-heart. "Olaf unlocked the door with his nose – long story – and that proves Hans was lying – I'm not explaining this well," She dropped her head into her hands. The wind carried her two plaits backwards and they danced behind her. "Basically, I thought I'd… made it all up, for a while. And I was really scared. But I realised that it wasn't – he wasn't – but I should have told you. And I didn't and I'm really sorry. I want things to be back the way they were."

Kristoff was quiet for so long that she peeked a glance at him through her fingers. He seemed to be thinking. Hard.

"Olaf… unlocked the door with his nose?"

 _"_ _Really?"_ Anna smacked him on the arm to break the tension. " _That's_ what you took from that?"

He was quiet again.

"When you say… back the way they were. With Hans, or…?"

"Oh, no! God, no. Urgh. No, I was – wrong, so wrong – with you. I want things back the way they were… with you."

More quiet. His hair was ruffled in the wind, but other that, he was completely still.

Finally, just when Anna thought she might burst, he spoke.

"I'd like that."

"You would?"

"Yeah."

A moment.

"So… we're… ok?"

By way of an answer, he took one hand from the reins and put it over hers.

Anna looked at him shrewdly. "You're a cryptic man, aren't you?"

At this, he burst out laughing. That big, deep laugh that he rarely used.

"What?"

Her indignance only brought more laughter.

 _"_ _What?"_

"Sorry. You just… yeah." He grinned, giddy. "If you want us to be, we're ok."

Anna waited impatiently for him to explain. She raised an eyebrow. He understood.

"I… I just wanted to give you some space. I didn't want to get in the way. And I'm – I'm not exactly a prince. So… things escalated. In my head."

"You're crazy."

"That's _my_ line."

Shyly, impulsively, Anna scooted closer to him. She slipped her arm through his. "Princes are overrated."

"Really?"

"Really."

Kristoff was not a man of words. He had no words for how his chest – and the thing beating inside his chest – and his lungs, stomach, mind, throat – no words for how they felt. For how overjoyed he felt. He couldn't explain to her how it felt like he was about to choke on the happiness bubbling up and how her touch on his arm set every nerve in his body alive.

So he kissed her very lightly on the top of the head instead. She quietly glowed.

* * *

For the third time in ten minutes, Elsa checked the clock.

It was creeping.

The plan was for Anna and her entourage to reach Kristiansand this evening. And she knew there was no way they could risk sending a letter to _the queen of Arendelle_ from the docks – but she wished there was some way she could know they'd arrived safe.

When she was younger, Elsa had always bought into the idea that you just _knew_ if something was wrong – she remembered overhearing her mother telling Anna a story one night when they were little. It'd been a made-up story – their mother had been good at that, just inventing worlds and characters off the top of her head – but Elsa remembered it very clearly.

 _"_ _And the mother horse knew, in an instant, that her little foal was in danger. So, quick as the wind, she galloped across the fields, over the hills to where she knew her foal was. Mothers always know these things, you see."_

Elsa had stood, holding her breath, outside the door that was just ajar.

 _"_ _What happened next?"_

 _"_ _Well, the mother horse saw the wolves and she charged forward, rearing up on her hind legs and neighing. The little foal ran to her, and as she kicked and charged, the wolves ran away."_

Elsa had heard her sister let out a sigh of relief and, satisfied that the foal was not going to die, she tiptoed away, back to her own room.

Elsa – with her superior years – had known that this was no silly children's story. This was a _metaphor_ – their mother would always know if they were in trouble, and would always be there for them. Her childhood mind extended this logic to all family. She'd felt very proud of her deductive skills, and fallen asleep happy that night.

But when their parents' ship had been lost in the storm, she'd felt nothing. She had no idea until Kai had come to her room one morning, ashen-faced, the bringer of bad news.

And she'd not realised what she'd done to Anna, at the ice palace – and admittedly, Hans had been lying about her sister's death but she'd still not known what had happened until she'd turned to see Anna there, frozen, cold.

So Elsa no longer believed in this 'sixth sense'. It was nonsense, and she knew it. A story to keep children sleeping soundly. The only real magic was that of destruction and chaos – not love.

She checked the clock again. The hands had moved infinitesimally.

Elsa tried to focus again on the book before her. She took in a handful of words.

Turning pages but not seeing, she repeated the mantra to herself: _she'll be fine. She'll be fine. She'll be fine._


	23. A Favourable Wind

**Notes:**

Bit of a short chapter today, but I have the weekend off so I'm hoping to get our intrepid travellers to Corona very soon!

Also, to avoid confusion - Andor Ness is not Wandering Oaken, but I am not ruling out a distant family connection.

BFM x

* * *

The dock was winding down for the evening, but it was still just as busy as any market day in Arendelle. Bells clanged, men shouted, horses bigger than any she'd ever seen huffed and snorted and tossed their enormous heads. The sea shifted, reminding her of the lullaby of the fjord back home – but when she ran to the edge of the jetty, hanging over the railings to look over into the sea, she caught a glance of filthy water before Kristoff grabbed her and yanked her away from the edge, muttering mutinously about death by idiocy.

And the ships – she'd been down to Arendelle's waterfront many times now, but had never really been in such close quarters with _so many boats_. Other than for the coronation, there were a handful of fishing boats, a fair few merchant ships – here were enormous vessels bound for mainland Europe – The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain – and they seemed to creak and groan, sails furled but masts and ropes proudly scoring the sky like an astronomer's maps.

And there were _steamboats_. Anna had never seen a steamboat before. Her eyes grew wide as dinner-plates, and even Ralf, Henrik and Oskar looked impressed.

Kristoff and Gerda eyed the great metal funnels mistrustfully.

"Stay close to us, ok Anna? Please don't go running off," Kristoff grumbled, grabbing her arm as her attention was caught by a large group of horses.

"Sorry. I won't. It's just – look at it all!"

Kristoff did, with only a hint of distaste in the set of his mouth. He'd take the quiet of the mountains over this any day.

"Come on. We need to find a ship to Corona."

He maintained a tight hold on her arm as they moved forward, Gerda's hand on the small of her back, the guards bringing up the rear, eyes watchful.

"Have any of you actually been on a ship before?" Kristoff asked suddenly, stopping the group. Ralf shook his head, but Henrik and Oskar nodded.

Henrik spoke first. "Never sailed myself, but I've been at sea… four times now?"

"My brother is a sailor," Oskar explained. "Been out on boats as a lad more times than I can remember. I was never a patch on him, but I know my way around a ship, Master Bjorgman."

Kristoff nodded, impressed. "That's great. I reckon it'd be handy if we can make ourselves useful onboard."

Asking them to wait for a second, he approached a scruffily-uniformed man.

"Evening. You the dockmaster here?"

"I am. What can I do for you?"

Kristoff glanced back over at the colourful group hovering anxiously. "We're looking for passage to Corona. Direct."

The scruffy man nodded, and scanned an eye over the list in his hand. "Aye. Got two ships headed that way tonight. _Grand Finale_ ," he pointed, "And _Whistlepig_." He pointed again. "Both good strong ships. Cap'ns should be out front if you want to barter passage – strong lad like you, should think they'd be happy to have you."

Kristoff paled slightly at the thought of taking Anna on a ship called _Grand Finale_ , but thanked the dockmaster and headed back over to his colourful entourage.

"Right, there are two ships to Corona tonight." He pointed to _Whistlepig_. "We're starting with that one. Come on."

As they walked over, Kristoff spoke low to Anna.

"Anna, please try not to say anything. This is the point of the journey where we really really don't want you recognised, ok? Just… let me and Gerda handle this one."

She nodded, and very seriously pressed her lips together. "Aye aye, captain."

He glared.

Striding forward, Kristoff offered his hand to a tall, middle-aged man standing in front of the great ship. "Captain of _Whistlepig_?"

The man nodded, and shook Kristoff's hand firmly. "Aye. Captain Andor Ness, at your service."

There was something oddly familiar about his chirpy delivery.

"Kristoff Bjorgman. My family and I are looking for passage to Corona. The dockmaster told me your ship was headed that way."

Andor Ness nodded again. "He told you right. Ve're set to leave in an hour. Is it the… six of you?"

"Yes. And two sleds and a reindeer."

At this, the captain laughed aloud. "A _reindeer_? Vhere you folks coming from?"

"Lom," said Kristoff, automatically. "We're happy to pay extra to get them across."

The captain shrugged. "Can't say I've ever ferried a reindeer before. Horses, yes, but never a reindeer."

Kristoff waited for an answer. Anna couldn't help herself: she chipped in.

"Sven pretty much lives like a horse anyway," she said, brightly. "He eats hay and carrots – he lives in a stable back home."

The captain looked at the bright little girl and her eccentric clothing with interest. "Is that so, miss?"

"Yeah. He'll be no trouble at all. I promise." She flashed him a brilliant grin.

The captain was a sucker for a pretty face.

"Vell, miss, I can't hardly refuse you now. Let's call it an extra forty for the reindeer, ja? And thirty each for the sleds."

Kristoff frowned. "Thirty? No, twenty."

Anna, suddenly anxious, tugged his sleeve. "Thirty's fine, Kristoff, don't worry – "

The captain looked at him shrewdly. "Tventy-five."

"Let's call it forty-five for the two."

There was a moment, in which Anna looked fretfully between them. Then the captain broke into a toothy grin and shook on the deal.

"How much for us?" Kristoff asked.

"Can any of you make yourself useful on a boat?"

Kristoff turned and looked at the three guards.

"Aye," said Oskar. "First sailed when I was ten. Never something that big, but I know my way around a ship."

Henrik shrugged. "I never sailed myself, but I'm a quick learner. My cousin here's the best teacher there is." He clapped a hand on Oskar's back.

Andor Ness nodded and looked at Kristoff and Ralf. "And you?"

Kristoff shrugged. "Never been on a boat, but I'm good with tools. Give me instruction and I'll get on with it."

Ralf seconded this. Anna chipped in.

"I can help out too, if you need!"

The captain smiled, and shook his head. "Thank you miss, but I think your brothers here have it covered. I'm sure ve can find something, if you really vant to help."

Kristoff cut in – perhaps a little too sharply. "Great. So with the four of us for labour – one experienced sailor – what price are we looking at?"

The captain considered. "Three hundred?"

"Two-fifty."

"Two seventy-five."

"Two-sixty."

"Deal."

They shook on it.

"Velcome aboard!"

With a flourish, the captain stepped aside, gesturing to the gangplank behind him. "Ask for the first mate. He vill find you a place to sleep."

Kristoff nodded. "Anna, Gerda, go on ahead with Sven. We'll load up the sleds."

Anna nodded enthusiastically, and was only stopped from charging ahead by Gerda's firm grip on her hand.

Once Kristoff and the guards had ascertained that Anna had made it up the gangplank without plunging headfirst into the ocean, they turned to the sleds.

"Kristoff!"

He started at the sound of his name, and spun around to see a bright red Sami hat and two ginger pigtails waving from the behind the deck's railings.

"I _told_ you that you knew stuff!"

Torn between irritation at her recklessness and amusement at her cheek, he flapped a hand at her and turned back to the sleds.


	24. Crowning Glory

**Notes, 28/07:**

Made a couple of edits on the suggestion of DaughterNumberTwo - namely, more damage to the castle, tweaking a tiny bit of dialogue and changing whose breath fogs - apparently, Elsa's never does in the film, which I think is a gorgeous touch :)

* * *

The next morning dawned crisp and bright. The leaves were burnished orange and red and gold, and Elsa watched the sunrise from her chamber window.

She put on one of her old corsets – softer and far more forgiving than the current fashion Anna favoured so much – and a dress for riding.

As she took breakfast for one in the cavernous dining hall, she explained to Kai that she would be indisposed today and would take no messages.

"I am going to be taking a horse and riding out," she said, pouring another cup of coffee. "I do not require a guard to accompany me, and I should be back this evening."

"Your majesty, forgive me, but – "

"No guard, Kai. I believe I have more than proved I am capable of looking out for myself."

Kai had to admit this was true, though he still felt the nagging tug of anxiety.

"Very well, your majesty. What time should I tell the kitchen to expect you?"

Elsa shook her head. "Don't worry. I'll have a sandwich or something when I return."

Breakfast done, Elsa made her way to the stable. Jakob the stablemaster was waiting with a horse, fully tacked and ready to go.

With a quick thanks, she took the horse's bridle and led her across the courtyard. They slipped through a small archway in one corner and disappeared from view.

She was in no hurry, and led the horse carefully down stone steps to the edge of the fjord. Scanning the far shore with a furrowed brow, Elsa swung up into the saddle and with a click of her tongue, she set the horse off at a canter, skirting the water's edge.

It was a fine, clear day: there was a chill in the air that she didn't feel and the sky was a periwinkle blue. A beautiful day for riding.

Elsa had wondered many times how it had taken Anna so long to get to the North Mountain. It was a pretty straight shot, in her opinion – admittedly being one with the wind and sky did somewhat speed things along, but still – Anna must have taken some serious detours .

She reached the foot of the North Mountain in a few hours. She looked up at its dizzying height with an odd sense of nostalgia, tugging on the reins to manoeuvre her horse onto the narrow path of the ascent. The air thinned a little as they climbed the horse's breath turned to mist before them. Snow began to pepper the path and Arendelle became a doll's house, its roads and sprawling satellite villages a child's plaything. The mountain was towering and imposing and Elsa began to remember that sheer sense of power – it was like the frozen stone held a kind of grace and majesty of its own that humbled everything else.

Eventually, the horse rounded a corner, and the glitter of a familiar staircase caught her eye. Elsa dismounted, thought for a second and conjured a tethering post of thick, clear ice. It wedged into the ground, binding itself with skittering icy roots. Elsa took her horse's reins, murmured a few gentle words and tied the reins tightly about the post. Then she turned the vast, glittering palace before her.

If it was possible, she thought it was even more beautiful than the last time she'd seen it.

Briefly, she wondered what Kristoff and Anna must have thought when they saw it. If they returned – _when_ they returned – she made a mental note to ask.

Taking a breath, she ascended the steps, a hand on either rail. She gasped and recoiled slightly as her right hand slipped off into mid-air: a huge, savage gap marred the side of the staircase, shattered and torn away.

Something that might have been pain crossed her face, and with a soft wave of her hand frosted railings seamlessly patched the hole. Another wave and the frost dissipated to reveal a finish like glass.

The great carved ice of the doors seemed to sense her approach and swung inwards with a shiver: a homecoming.

Inside the atrium, there was that beautiful fountain of ice, framed by the grand staircase, sweeping down as if to greet her – past that, the layers of gauzy ice that distorted the continued stairs dropped like curtains –

 _Thump thump thump._

Elsa froze. She was not so lost in rapture not to notice the blows that practically shook the whole palace.

She looked instinctively about her. What…?

 _"Go away."_

The voice – a deep, booming voice – came from the room upstairs. Cautiously, Elsa began up the staircase.

"Hello?"

 _"Go away!"_

She quickened her pace, hitching up the front of her dress to move faster.

"Hello?"

"Don't come _back!"_

She made it to the top of the stairs and rounded the corner into the beautiful circular room. The doors of the balcony gaped open, a sheet of vicious ice splintering the balustrade and the smashed chandelier scattered across the floor.

Crouched like a child over the broken pieces was an enormous… thing.

A very familiar thing.

If Elsa remembered correctly… the thing she'd created to remove Kristoff and Anna from the palace.

It looked up her, glaring – but seemed to recognise something.

"Hello you," she murmured, reaching out a hand. "I thought I lost you."

The creature stood – all fifteen feet of it – and cautiously trudged over to Elsa, eyes widening.

"It's ok," she said gently. "It's ok. You remember me?"

After a moment, the giant snow-thing nodded.

"Good. What happened to you? I saw Hans and the guards fight you over the cliff."

After another moment, the snow-thing nodded again. It lowered its head, enormous eyebrow ridges curving into a frown.

"Bad man."

"You have no idea. Did you… climb back up?"

After another pause, it nodded again.

"Home."

Elsa felt a tug on her heart, and cautiously placed the palm of her outstretched hand on the creature's nose. It closed its eyes, apparently contented. There was a great rumble from its chest that Elsa could have sworn was a purr.

She noticed something small twinkling atop its head.

"What's this?"

Eyes opened. The snow-beast looked upwards, going crossed eyed. Elsa reached and gently took the tiny tiara from its perch.

To her surprise, the creature looked somewhat abashed.

"Find. Keep. Don't be mad."

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm not mad." For the first time since Anna had left, Elsa felt a smile break across her face. "Here. It looks better on you anyway." Very gently, she re-crowned the snow-beast. A huge grin, jagged with icy teeth, split its face.

"Pretty. I queen too."

Elsa couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around the big creature (barely reaching halfway around its chin, though the sentiment was untarnished by this).

"Yes you are, baby. And this is your palace?"

The great creature wrapped its own enormous arms around its little mother and made the strange purring noise again.

* * *

Boats, Anna decided, were not fun.

The beds themselves were not too much more uncomfortable than the ones in Haukeli, but it was almost impossible to fall asleep with the constant pitching and heaving of the sea. Back in Arendelle, she had always found the soft sound of the waves comforting; here, they slapped against the sides of the ship, crashed and roared as they broke over the prow. Back in Arendelle, the caws of seabirds soothed her; here, their screeches were much to close and much too frequent. Back in Arendelle, you could always smell the crisp salt of the sea; here, that was mingled with the heady odours of fish, rum and sweaty man.

Needless to say, she couldn't wait till they reached Corona.

Oskar, meanwhile, was in his element. He shouted and called like the rest of the sailors, hoisting and bracing and swinging. The thick ropes obeyed his touch and he swayed with the motion of the boat by instinct.

Henrik seemed reasonably competent: he followed orders to the letter with only hint of confusion marring his brow. Sometimes the swell of the sea would catch him off guard and he'd go staggering across the deck, but mostly, he was doing all right.

Ralf just followed Oskar, who – bless him – patiently repeated and explained each bit of the sailor's hollered jargon.

And Kristoff… well, Kristoff wasn't faring too well.

"Kristoff," Anna said, stalking over. "They don't have any tea. Or pastries. Just _dried pork_. I am _so_ hungry."

"Please don't talk about food," he mumbled back. "Food is not what I want to think about right now."

Kristoff was slumped over the deck's balustrade, looking down into the ocean. One hand clutched his stomach and the other had a white-knuckled grip on the railings. He was somewhat green-faced.

For a moment, Anna's sleep-deprived, mutinous expression eased to one of concern.

"Have you not had anything this morning?"

He shook his head and mumbled again. "Don't want to risk it."

She fiddled with a strand of hair, troubled. "What about some bread or something? There is a lot of very hard and bland-looking bread down there. That might sit ok?"

Kristoff glanced up and opened his mouth to reply, but was overcome with another wave of nausea and bent double over the railings again, taking deep breaths.

All sympathy, she bit her lip and rubbed his back. "Ok. Or maybe some water, or…?"

He shook his head. "I'm ok. I just – " the ship lurched over a wave. " – urrrghh. I wish it would stop doing that."

Anna looked up, across the deck. It was a very clear day, all blue skies and crisp horizons, and, if it wasn't for the lack of food and sleep, she would have thought it was beautiful.

Gerda was walking towards them, fighting valiantly against the sway of the ship.

"How are you feeling?"

"Awful," grumbled Anna immediately. "I am so tired and so hungry."

Gerda gave her a sympathetic pat on the arm. "There is some food below deck, my lady. Master Bjorgman?" She looked down to the man her question had actually been directed to.

"Been better," he mumbled.

"Here. I have been told that ginger helps." She put a hand on his back and passed him a small bottle. "And Oskar swears by a slight pressure on the wrists. Sounds like an old wives' tale to me, but he insists it's what his brother taught him."

Kristoff looked up at her queasily. "At this point, I will take all the old wives' tales you can throw at me."


	25. Arrival

**Notes:**

Sorry it has been such a long time between updates - work has exploded recently, so I haven't had much time for writing! Hopefully I'll catch up soon, and get you another new chapter ASAP :)

Here, we finally arrive in Corona. I found Rapunzel surprisingly hard to write dialogue for - hopefully it sounds right to you.

BFM x

* * *

It was about eleven o'clock in the morning and Gerda had never been happier to see the shore. Three nights on the ship with a grumpy Anna and a vomiting Kristoff had been more than enough, and she was ready to feel solid ground under her feet again.

Now they could see the shore, Anna had brightened considerably.

"Gerda look look _look!_ There it is!"

"Not quvite, miss Anna," – both women jumped a little at the sound of Captain Andor Ness' voice – "That is the mainland. The city of Corona is quvite a vay up the Elbe. We should be there in a few hours."

The few hours passed very slowly.

Kristoff seemed to be a little better now they were in the calmer seas and the guards visibly more relaxed now the Corona-Southern Isles border was behind them, but Anna ran up and down the deck of the ship, eyes like saucers, pointing and gasping and exclaiming – much to the exasperation of the seasoned sailors.

Finally, _finally_ , they arrived into the Corona docks. Anna squealed in delight and proceeded to seize Andor Ness in a bearhug.

"Thank you _thank you!_ I can't believe we're finally _here!_ "

The captain, who had been planning on charging the little Sami family an extra twenty speciedaler due to Kristoff's complete incapacitation, felt his resolve soften.

"You are very velcome, little lady. It has been a delight." He stepped back from the hug, swept his hat off his head and bowed to kiss her hand.

Anna giggled. "Ahh, c _aptain_. Thank you." She looked about her, spotting the rest of her party moving towards them. "Are we all good to go?"

Henrik nodded. "I believe so."

The captain shook hands with them. "Vunderful. I hope your stay in Corona is everything you hope for!"

And finally, the trunks, the sleds, Sven, and the motley band of Sami-disguised Arendellians stood on the cobbled streets of Corona.

Anna was practically speechless with excitement.

The vast river than ran right around the city was smooth and clear and mirrored the enormous hill up which the timbered buildings of Corona were stacked haphazardly. At the peak of the hill they could see the castle's towers, its banners and flags of purple and yellow fluttering in the sea breeze. It wasn't warm, but it was clear, and the air smelled like a marketplace. Anna was stunned how familiar so many of the sounds and smells were: it was both incredibly foreign and uncannily like home.

Henrik took charge.

"Now, in the interests of maintaining our cover a little longer, Queen Elsa informed me that there would be a welcome party waiting for you by the 'Mural of the Docks', my lady, as opposed to straight off the boat. Now – "

But Anna had already bounded away. Ralf darted after her.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where the 'Mural of the Docks' is?"

The rather startled-looking merchant blinked at the sight of Anna and her eccentric clothing.

"Er – of course, miss. It's just down that way," he pointed, and Anna followed with her eyes. "Past the fishery, towards the town. It's by a big arch. You can't miss it."

Anna grinned and thanked the man before zooming back over to the group, Ralf in pursuit.

"That way!" She pointed, seized Kristoff's hand and set off, bouncing and skipping.

"Woah, woah, Anna," he put on the brakes. "Sleds."

Trunks in sleds and sleds being wheeled along or pulled by Sven, they set off, eyes peeled for this mural, the fishery and a 'big arch'.

They turned a corner into a wide street, and – the merchant was right. You couldn't miss it.

A broad stone archway spanned the street, painted in a vision of blues and greens. It took them a second to realise that the paint spilled from the arch onto the cobbles and the buildings on either side and that it was an enormous stylised painting of the sea, complete with ships and fish and mermaids. Along the voussoirs, in bright yellow letters were the words 'Welcome to Corona'.

To the side of the arch were four guards, a woman in a purple dress with short brown hair and a man in a very well-fitted pair of trousers and a black jerkin.

For the first time since they arrived, Anna hesitated. She turned to Henrik.

"Who are we… meeting? Did Elsa say? Because I have a terrible memory for faces, but I think that's Princess Rapunzel over there, but I'm not – sure – we only met really briefly – and then everything _happened_ – "

Henrik frowned; considered. "I will ask, my lady. One moment." Cautiously, he approached the guards. Before he could clear his throat, they stepped forward, hands jumping to the handles of strange, iron weapons, which looked like… frying pans?

"Halt. What business do you have with the Princess?"

Henrik stopped, and bowed low. "I am one of the guard of Princess Anna of Arendelle. I take it you are the welcome party?"

The woman in the purple dress gasped and squeezed past the guards to shake Henrik's hand. "Princess Anna?! Where is she?"

Henrik was only briefly taken aback – four solid days of Anna did that to you – and smiled. "Just a moment, my lady." He turned and gave a clear nod to Oskar, who gently invited Anna to approach.

Henrik could see she was fidgeting.

"Princess Rapunzel!" Anna stopped; stepped forward; fidgeted; stepped back; curtsied. She quickly pulled off her red Sami hat. "Sorry I'm – we're disguised." She sheepishly gestured to her clothes. "We're not really dressed for a Christening yet!"

"Oh, that's all right!" Rapunzel made the same funny step-forward-step-back-curtsey jig. "I'm so happy you made it! We hardly spoke at the coronation.."

"I know! It's so great to be – " suddenly, the shoulder of Rapunzel's dress started – moving. Politely, she did not stare "– here! In Corona. And seeing you. I've never been, you know, outside Arendelle before, so –" it was still moving. Anna tried valiantly not to stare and continued to babble – maybe wriggling dresses were normal in Corona? – but as the wriggling section turned green, moved off the dress and up onto Rapunzel's head, Anna couldn't help but look. She almost had a heart attack.

" – so – sorry, you've got a, you've got a – thing. On – on your head. Um?" She looked helplessly at Kristoff and Henrik, but they looked just as surprised as her.

Rapunzel glanced up, but just as she did so, the man in the jerkin stepped forward and gently picked the green thing off her head.

"Pascal. Seriously." Looking up from the – thing – he shot Anna a dazzling grin. "Hi. Eugene Fitzherbert. We met at the coronation. How was your boat journey?" The little green creature – Anna decided it must be a creature of some kind, and not a piece of clothing – scuttled up his arm and curled up happily on his shoulder as Eugene held out a hand. Anna took it, ready to give her best royal handshake, and was very flustered when he swooped down to kiss her hand instead.

Beside him, Rapunzel rolled her eyes and sighed.

 _"Eugene."_

He straightened, grinned, and hooked an arm around Rapunzel's waist.

"Sorry. She gets jealous."

Rapunzel sighed again.

"Sorry about him. I know you've met before, but – everyone, this is Eugene, my husband. And this is Pascal," she pointed to the green creature. "He's a chameleon."

Anna grinned and stepped forward, her eyes on the lizard. "Hello, Pascal. I'm Anna."

The lizard appraised her suspiciously, and looked to Rapunzel for confirmation.

"She's a friend, Pascal." Rapunzel turned back to her. "He gets nervous of strangers."

Anna giggled, fascinated. After a moment, she remembered her manners.

"Oh – sorry. This is Kristoff, my – " she hesitated and looked up at him. "My plus one? I guess. He's my plus one." Satisfied, she turned to the others. "And this is Gerda – and this is Sven – and this is Henrik, Ralf and Oskar. My guards. Well, guards-in-disguise."

Eugene shook hands with Kristoff, and the guards all exchanged courteous nods. Rapunzel smiled and welcomed Gerda.

"You must all be so tired. We'll get you back to the castle, and you can freshen up and meet everyone," she smiled. "I know that mum and dad are really excited to meet you."

Anna absent-mindedly twirled a strand of hair round her finger. "Amazing. This is so amazing. Shall we – " She looked round at them. "Shall we go?"

As the group moved forward, two of Rapunzel's guard helped their Arendellian counterparts to move the sled and Kristoff put a hand on the small of Anna's back without thinking.

"You ok?" He murmured to her.

She looked up at him with enormous blue eyes. "Did I make a good impression?"

"Of course you did."

"This is way scarier than I thought it would be."

He frowned slightly. "What's scary about it?"

She fiddled with the strand of hair more frantically and lowered her voice so she was barely audible. "You know. New place. Family. Stuff."

"…you're afraid of meeting relatives, but fighting off wolves with a lute is no problem?"

At this, she grinned a little and launched into a convoluted analogy about families and wolves.


	26. Sheep's Clothing

Johannes had left for Corona the day before last, and Hans assured himself that all would be well. There was no way Elsa would let her precious sister out of her sight for long enough to go there too. Arendelle would send a dignitary, and that would be that.

"Claus, have you heard from your brother yet?"

"Yes, mother. He arrived in Corona yesterday. Apparently, the lost princess is as beautiful as they say."

The Westergards were having dinner. As ever, Hans' stepmother had insisted on full evening wear and every single brother wore ceremonial military garb. At the head of the table, the king dozed off.

"Well, I suppose she is no longer the 'lost' princess, but that is good to hear. One would worry that so many years apart from civilisation would have taken its toll. And her husband?"

"Apparently, he is charming. Johannes finds him most amusing."

Hans was having dinner in customary silence. Lukas and Linus were playing their favourite game of pretending he was invisible, and he was in no hurry to engage with them. His ears were pricked for all and any information about Corona.

"Excellent. I must admit I have a grudging respect for the husband – I heard he was once a convicted felon. Incredible that somehow he is now to be prince consort."

Linus, who had been busy lining up a pea to fire at Hans' head, chipped in.

"Has Johannes said anything about any Arendelle representatives?"

Hans ignored this pointed comment, but continued listening hard.

"No. None have yet arrived, to the best of his knowledge. As the christening is tomorrow, I expect some will soon. This evening, perhaps."

Hans pushed his food about his plate, thinking. Johannes – one of his least favourite brothers – was the most self-righteous prude he'd ever met. Straight-laced to the point of piety, he couldn't stand him, and would not put it past him to suck-up to whatever Arendellian delegation Elsa decided to send.

It would not do; it could not be risked.

After dinner, he retreated to his room, unfurled a fresh sheet of paper and began to write.

* * *

As the maid pushed open the door, Kristoff's mouth fell open: the guest room was even bigger those in Arendelle.

The bed was impeccably made; fresh towels were folded – in the shape of swans – and sat the foot of it; the curtains were drawn back to let in the bright autumn sun; there was a bathing room; the walls were patterned with the sun sigil of Corona and on the bed's pillow were three little mints.

Kristoff whirled around to see a porter carrying in one of the trunks from the back of the sled. He placed it at the foot of the bed and with a bow, turned and left. The maid bobbed into a curtsey.

"Is everything to your liking, sir?"

Kristoff gaped at her for a moment, but finally found his voice.

"…yes, thanks."

With another curtsey, she left, closing the door behind her.

Before she had been whisked away to her own private room, Anna had informed him that she was going to get ready for dinner and would come find him when she was done. From Kristoff's experience of castle dinners back in Arendelle, this gave him anything from twenty minutes to an hour to get settled in.

First to be inspected was the bathing room. Ordinarily, he wouldn't even consider having a bath for _dinner_ , but he was painfully aware of the lingering odour of the ship, and wanted to remove every possible reminder of that nauseating journey.

He opened the bizarrely elaborate closet and examined the bathtub inside with a wary eye. How did it work?

The rare baths he normally had were either in mountain lakes or in big metal tubs filled up by an inn's single servant. But this thing seemed to have pipes connected to it. There was a sort of container mounted on the wall behind it.

Kristoff shut the cabinet: this was far too complicated-looking.

Instead, he eyed the washbasin on the opposite wall. Beside it, very neatly arranged was a sponge and a pitcher. A quick look inside and an experimental hand determined it was full of lukewarm water – presumably filled just prior to their arrival.

Kristoff hesitated for a second before peeling off his ocean-y travel clothes.

Somewhat more clean, he trudged back into the main room and heaved open the trunk.

He frowned.

The only things he'd packed had been a couple of shirts, a jerkin, a spare pair of trousers and some books Elsa had lent him to keep practicing reading. The trunk was full of… other things.

 _Anna._

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"It's me! Can I come in?"

"No! I mean – hang on a second," Kristoff frantically pulled on some of the clothes _he'd_ packed to cover his stark-nakedness. "Just – hang on."

Slightly flustered, but at least decent, he opened the door.

Anna stood there in a very beautiful green dress. Kristoff was slightly sad to see the blue-and-red Sami attire gone, but there was no denying that she still looked…

"…nice. You look… really nice." He rubbed the back of his head.

"Thanks! You look…" suddenly, Anna frowned. "Why are you wearing that?"

He looked down, self-conscious. "What?"

She shook her head impatiently and marched in, making a beeline for the still-open trunk.

" _This_ is what you're supposed to be wearing." She extracted and brandished a blue tailcoat. "See?" She threw it onto the bed and continued to rummage. A double-breasted waistcoat, a large white shirt, a strange strip of fabric, a pair of dark trousers and some very shiny shoes followed.

Proudly, she gestured to the pile of clothes. "Evening wear!"

Kristoff looked on in horror.

"Where did you get these?"

"Frue Anja's! She already had your measurements from before, so just had to adjust some stuff she had in stock to fit your shoulders!"

"Anna, you really have to stop buying me things – "

"Well," she looked uncharacteristically embarrassed. "I kind of assumed you wouldn't have anything formal enough, really, so I asked Elsa – "

"Why do I need formal things?"

She looked at him, very confused. "For… dinners. And the christening. And stuff."

Kristoff's confusion matched hers. "But… why would I be at those?"

Anna's frown deepened and she held up her hands. "Woah. Let's get back on the same page. Elsa bought you formal stuff because you'll need formal stuff here. Y'know, it'd be weird if I was all formal-y and you were still all ice harvester-y."

" _Elsa_ bought them? But – I thought she wanted me here to look after you? As a bodyguard, or something?"

After a moment, her expression slowly cleared to one of understanding, and then to a look she usually reserved for ducklings and puppies.

"Oh – Kristoff, no, you're – you're here to keep me company. And because I _want_ you here. I know we hadn't really talked about – stuff – before we left, but Elsa kind of implied – well, she kind of just said, really – that things were ok, and she'd ask you to come so we could spend some time together, and because she trusts you, because she knows – well, you know – "

The puppy look was gone and replaced by a flustered kind of awkwardness.

Kristoff shook his head in disbelief. Elsa was something else.

"I did wonder why you called me your plus one."

"Because you are. Now, put these on." She smiled. "I'll wait outside for you?"

Anna gone, Kristoff turned to the clothes.

 _Right. Shirt._ That was pretty straight forward.

 _Trousers_ – equally, quite simple, though the bizarre buttons on the front baffled him for a while.

Eventually, he found his way around the waistcoat and, with a look of disgust, pulled on the tailcoat. It fitted – a small mercy – but he couldn't move his arms as much as he'd like, and it had a very high, stiff collar.

Sighing, he pulled off his comfortable old curly-toed boots and pulled on the unyielding shiny shoes before turning to the strip of fabric.

What was it?

Kristoff shrugged, and tied it round his waist as per his usual sashes.

He opened the door.

Anna turned around and smiled at the sight of him – though this quickly faded.

"What's the matter now?" He asked impatiently.

Anna giggled a little and checked to see if anyone was about before taking his hand and leading him back into the room.

"That's a cravat," she explained, pointing to the sash about his waist. "It goes round your neck. Take it off and I'll show you."

Kristoff felt himself flushing, and removed the cravat with a small "oh."

"Here," she said, taking it off him. She hung it around his neck like a scarf before taking the ends and beginning to wrap. "I used to do my dad's cravats when I was younger. I think I can still remember how to do it."

With a final flourish, she tucked the ends into the top of the waistcoat and arranged them in a suitably puffy manner. "Perfect. And – " she glanced up at his hair, then about the room, before her eyes settled on a jug of water set neatly on the bedside table. She poured some into the glass beside it before dipping her hand in it, walking back over to him and beginning to attack his hair.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hold still! Men always have their hair kind of slicked at formal things. I think my dad used to comb his and put some greasy stuff in it, but I always just use water if mine's not behaving."

Kristoff huffed.

"There! You look great," she enthused, steering him to the mirror. "Look!"

Kristoff looked. He barely recognised himself, and pulled uncomfortably at the cravat.

"Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, this is exactly what you were talking about in the sled, not exactly being a prince and everything."

"Yep, that's exactly what I'm thinking."

"But I think, this'll show you that's it's not all that. Stick on a jacket, and… you're no different from anyone in there. Better than most of them, in fact."

He was unconvinced. But she was full of excitement and sparkle and hope, and he didn't want to put a damper on that.

A nod. "All right. Please don't leave me on my own though."

She squeezed his arm and beamed. "I promise."

* * *

 _Dear Elsa,_

 _We've arrived! We're all in one piece – though boats, I've decided, are hugely overrated. I am not looking forward to the crossing back – and nor is Kristoff._

 _The disguise worked brilliantly, and no-one suspected a thing. I really wanted to try_ everything _because, you know, there are things a princess_ shouldn't _do, but Henrik and Ralf and Oskar and Kristoff stopped me most of the time. I think they're killjoys, but I'm sure you're happy to hear that._

 _Corona is beautiful! It's kind of like home in a lot of ways, but greener. And taller. The castle is at the top of a huge hill? I did_ not _enjoy getting up that this afternoon, but considering the North Mountain is like a light stroll for you, you probably wouldn't have minded at all._

 _We met Rapunzel and her husband Eugene – they seem really nice. It was super awkward at first, but that's kind of to be expected I suppose. Hopefully we'll get to speak to them a lot more this evening. I think me and Rapunzel are quite similar. She has a chameleon? Can we get one? It changes colour! I think Olaf would love one. I'm going to meet Uncle Thomas and Aunt Primrose this evening, which'll be pretty crazy. I don't think I've seen them since… before mama and papa shut the gates? Crazy. I honestly don't remember what they look like._

 _Me and Kristoff had a talk. I think things are ok. Thank you so much, it's so nice to spend some time with him. I'm about to get dressed for dinner and then go get him – hopefully the clothes fit right!_

 _Hope everything's ok back home – I miss you. Say hello to Olaf for me!_

 _Lots of love,_

 _Anna_


	27. Perfect Stranger

**Notes:**

Featuring a Southern Isles brother, tipsy Kristoff and more Tangled cameos. Enjoy! X

* * *

It was one of those dinners where everyone was introduced by announcement.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle and Master Kristoff Bjorgman."

Anna beamed and waved, hanging off his arm. She led the way, drinking in every aspect of the great dining room – when her grip on his arm suddenly tightened. He looked down.

"You ok?"

She seemed to be frozen in place, all colour drained from her usually rosy cheeks.

He followed her gaze to a very tall auburn-haired man. Though his back was turned to them, Kristoff could see the man spoke animatedly, the tasselled epilates of his ceremonial military wear swinging with each emphasis. He was slim, well-proportioned, and his white-gloved hands held a glass of port.

Kristoff didn't have the faintest idea who he was, but Anna clearly recognised him.

"Anna?"

Suddenly, the man turned his head and Kristoff recognised Southern-Isles-Sideburns.

He tensed; anger.

"Why the _hell_ would they let him out? What is _wrong_ with these people? Do they think – "

But Anna had relaxed – albeit only slightly.

"Kristoff – it's not him."

"What?"

"It's – it's not him. It must be a brother."

The man had a much straighter nose than Hans, and though his hair was the exact same shade and his sideburns equally as odd, he had a broader jaw, a heavier brow – he was not as refined as his brother, and nor (Anna noted) was he as handsome.

The momentary relief was replaced by a whole other kind of dread – all the things Hans had said to his family – did this brother believe them? Was he just as bad?

Kristoff steered Anna away, putting himself protectively between her and this prince of the Southern Isles.

"Come on. Don't worry about him. Let's go find your aunt and uncle. He probably won't have the gut to even come talk to you." Kristoff threw an anxious glance over his shoulder. "Come on."

Anna nodded, and held Kristoff's arm a little tighter.

* * *

It wasn't until after dinner that the brother finally confronted them.

Anna and Kristoff had found themselves sat opposite Rapunzel and Eugene for dinner – family privileges. It was a great banquet, the table laden with foods Kristoff had never even seen before – not even back in Arendelle. Anna managed to subtly point out to him which bits of cutlery to use and conversation steered well clear of Elsa's coronation , focusing instead on the new royal baby. Through every description of tiny hands and feet, Anna became misty-eyed in a way that almost broke Kristoff out in a cold sweat.

"Can I meet her later?"

"Of course you can! She's upstairs with her nurse at the moment, but I can take you after dinner."

They also talked about Anna's charity work. Much to Kristoff's mortification, the inevitable bombshell was dropped that he had inspired the Children's Home project.

Rapunzel and Eugene exchanged a very transparent look.

"Hold on – you had nothing for orphans in Arendelle before that?"

Anna shook her head sheepishly. "My parents – had their hands full with other stuff, I guess."

Eugene raised his eyebrows. "What's your story, Kristoff?"

Kristoff felt his mouth go dry. "My story, sir?"

Another look was exchanged – this one clearly amused about Eugene being called 'sir'.

"Tell you what, I'll go first," he took a deep, dramatic breath. "This is the story… of how I died."

Anna and Kristoff were thoroughly confused, but Rapunzel sighed. "I hope you're sitting comfortably. This could take a while."

The entire tale took up the next two courses, but he was a good story-teller, and once he'd finished, Kristoff seemed far more comfortable. He glanced at Anna, and she beamed.

He did not reciprocate with his own tale, but Anna covered for him, diving in with her own recounts of magic – namely, Olaf and Trolls. She left out Kristoff's association with them in a rare moment of tact.

Once all the plates had been cleared, it was time for more mingling and after-dinner drinks. Anna was dismayed that there was no ice cream.

Many of the women retired to another room whilst cigars and port were brought out for the men – Kristoff panicked and Anna was confused. She glanced towards her uncle, who took the hint and approached.

"Princess Anna, if you follow your aunt and I through those doors, you and your companion may stay together."

A bow and a curtsey, and they followed.

There were not many people in this mixed room, and most of them gravitated towards the royal couple. Rapunzel and Eugene had gone to the separate gendered rooms, so there was no-one Anna or Kristoff knew. They gave a small sigh of relief and turned to face each other.

"Some dinner, huh?"

"You can say that again."

Anna grinned. "How was the cutlery?"

"Couldn't have done it without you."

She giggled; fell pensive in thought. "That was really nice of Eugene, wasn't it?"

Kristoff nodded more fervently than he would have done without three glasses of wine in him. "It was. I should – probably thank him."

With a smile, Anna dared to take his hand. "Tomorrow. Or tonight, if we get to see the baby. I know it's kind of late-ish though, so I'm not sure – "

"Excuse me? Princess Anna?"

They spun around and almost had a heart attack.

It was Southern-Isles-Sideburns.

Kristoff instinctively moved a little in front of Anna.

"Forgive me – I startled you." The man dipped into a low bow. "I am Prince Johannes, of the Southern Isles."

Anna bobbed into a little curtsey and Kristoff very stiffly inclined his head, tugging at the cravat.

"My lady, I saw you introduced and I knew I must speak to you. I confess your companion's name escapes me – Master Christopher, was it?"

"It's Kristoff," he said, bluntly. "Kristoff Bjorgman."

"Master Kristoff. I understand your manner – I would expect nothing less, but if I may be so bold as to beg a word with you, I would be most grateful."

Kristoff looked at Anna. Anna hesitated, eyes wide and frightful – but nodded.

"Thank you, my lady. Shall we?" Johannes gestured to a number of unoccupied seats near the corner of the room. They sat, Kristoff being sure to take the left hand side of the loveseat so as to place himself between Anna and the prince.

Johannes twisted his hands before him. He pulled off his gloves.

"I will be candid. Princess Anna, I owe you an apology."

There was a pause. Anna was confused.

"You haven't done anything."

Johannes sighed. "But my family has. Prince Hans has tarnished the name of the Southern Isles, and I fear has torn an irreparable gulf between our two countries."

Kristoff couldn't contain himself. "Your brother – "

"Half brother, please." Distaste hung on the word.

Kristoff was slightly taken aback. "Your – half brother, then – has treated Anna and her sister in a way that I wouldn't treat my worst enemy – "

Anna laid a hand on his arm. "It's ok, Kristoff." He fell quiet, but his eyes stayed locked on Johannes. Anna swallowed and spoke up. "You don't owe us an apology. But what I would like to know is what, exactly, is going on. We've got the words of a dozen witnesses – not to mention the word of a queen and a princess – but one guy – the guy being accused as well – denies it, you just decide to keep him locked up? Not doing anything? I mean, I know the whole 'innocent until proven guilty' thing applies here, but you can at least – I don't know, give him a trial or something? You can't just keep him locked up indefinitely! That's not – that's not fair," she ended quietly, and swallowed. "That's really not fair at all. You have to do something either way."

Johannes looked thoroughly confused. "Locked up?"

"Yeah – locked up. That's what he said, in his – " suddenly, Anna stopped. The dawn of realisation spread over her. "In… his letters. The letters. Oh God, I'm so stupid." Her head fell into her hands. Kristoff spun about to her, his huge arms hovering and hesitating, not sure what to do. He finally settled on a very light arm about her.

"Anna?"

She peeked at him through her fingers. "The letters. The letter are _all_ lies, aren't they? He's not locked up at all." She turned to Johannes. "Is he?"

"No, my lady. Our step-mother has him under – unofficial house arrest, I suppose, but he is not locked up. What letters are these, my lady?"

Anna fiddled with the tassels on one of the cushions. She brought it onto her lap. "Hans has been sending me letters. I don't have them – Elsa took them – and he said he was locked up, that there were rumours of war, that I'd made the whole thing up, that Elsa was – I don't know, deceiving everybody –"

Kristoff, who had never actually heard anything substantial about the contents of the letters, felt his blood boil. What he wouldn't give just to fight the guy, just one-on-one –

"Good God," Johannes inhaled deeply. "My lady, I am so sorry. We had no idea Hans was able to send letters out. We have endeavoured to stop him contacting you, but – as you can imagine, alliances in our home are somewhat divided. No doubt he has some servants bribed to get these letters to you. I am so sorry."

"It's ok," she said in a very, very small voice. "It's not your fault."

Three-glasses-of-wine-Kristoff rounded on Johannes.

"No, Anna, it is his fault. You're harbouring, what, a murderous sociopath in your castle, and you don't keep a close enough eye on him to stop him sending abusive letters to Anna? Seriously, you need to –"

"Kristoff, come on, that's not fair, and we –" she glanced behind them at their fellow guests, a few of whom were casting curious looks at them. "We need to keep it down."

Kristoff shook his head mutinously and dropped to a much lower volume. "Anna, this guy –"

"Is not Hans. Come on, they're only half brothers."

Kristoff threw a dark look at Johannes. "I don't trust him."

Anna was fiddling with that strand of hair. She put her hand over Kristoff's. "Let's just see what he has to say, ok?"

She turned back to Johannes. "Sorry. We keep interrupting you, don't we?" She bit her lip apologetically. "So… what is actually going on with Hans?"

Johannes nodded. "Hans has given us his side of the story, my lady, which I believe my step-mother detailed in a letter to your sister. My father is… a trusting man. He loves Hans – as he loves us all – and does not want to think ill of him. My step-mother is less naïve, in my opinion, and sees Hans for what he is. I think, my lady, this will be a question of proof. If neither party can provide proof either way of what exactly happened after your sister's coronation, there is little we can do."

Suddenly, Anna brightened. "But there is proof! Elsa worked it out – Olaf, see, he unlocked the door, because Hans locked the door, and I remember that, and if he thought I was dead, why would he lock the door? It doesn't make any sense. So, we have this proof – another witness – that the door was locked, and – I'm not explaining this well at all. Basically, Elsa and I can prove Hans is lying." She willed Johannes to understand. "Look, Elsa said she might go to the Southern Isles. Once I'm back in Arendelle. To speak to your parents, and to confront Hans, and to explain better than me."

Johannes looked thoroughly confused. "All right. Who's Olaf? Is he an objective third party?"

Anna flushed. "He's a snowman."

The confusion deepened. "He's… what?"

"He's… a snowman. An enchanted snowman."

Johannes looked to Kristoff for confirmation.

Kristoff shrugged. "He is. You kind of have to see it to believe it."

Johannes bit his lip. "My lady, I hate to say it, but… I assume this – snowman – was enchanted by your sister? And as it is your sister Hans calls in to question, I do not know if that would stand up as evidence."

Anna was dismayed. "But – no, you don't understand, my sister is not a monster. She's not manipulating anyone. Kristoff," she turned to him, beseeching. "Kristoff, tell him."

Kristoff thought for a moment.

"Listen, your majesty," he said. "I'm pretty much a nobody here. I'm not related to any royal family, I'm not a noble. I'm going to be honest, I'm an ice harvester with a fancy title." Anna went to say something, but Kristoff held up a hand. "Hang on, Anna. I was on the receiving end of everything did at the coronation. I wasn't even _at_ the coronation. I didn't meet Queen Elsa until everything was almost over, really. I didn't have a conversation with her till the Great Thaw, and I can promise you that nothing I saw at any point made me think she was – evil, or, manipulative. What I did see was a woman who loved her sister, and was horrified every single time she thought her magic had hurt her. She's been nothing but good to me – a nobody." He cleared his throat and shrugged. "That's… that's all I've got to say, really. Elsa's not tricking anyone." He looked at Anna. She had a look in her eye that he recognised from the moment before their first kiss.

He looked away quickly.

Johannes was quiet for a moment. A nod.

"I believe you, Master Kristoff. And I thank you for your honesty."

The prince rose, brushing down his trousers as he did so.

"Princess Anna; Master Kristoff. Thank you for your time. No doubt, I shall see you at the christening tomorrow."

With a bow, he left.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed quietly. It was, it transpired, too late to see the baby, but Rapunzel assured her cousin that first thing tomorrow, they would be introduced.

Kristoff walked Anna back to her room.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm ok. That was… weird."

With a slight raise of his eyebrows and another nod, he agreed. "Very weird."

"I'm worried. Elsa sent me here so we could get away from all this Hans stuff. It's just… following me like a bad dream."

"A bad penny."

She looked up at him, confused. "Huh?"

Kristoff rubbed back of his head in embarrassment. "That's the expression. Following you like a bad penny."

Anna nodded, impressed. "You learn something every day." Hesitation. "Thank you, Kristoff, for… standing up for me. And saying all that stuff about Elsa."

He shrugged. "It's what I think."

"This is like it was before, isn't it?" She laughed. "You walking me back to my room and everything. I really liked it when you did that. Do that."

Again, his hand jumped up to the back of his head. They were right outside her door, and he had the funny feeling she was stalling. "Well. You know. It's what you're meant to do, right? And I get more time with you. So. Yeah. Win-win."

Anna giggled. "I like it."

There was a moment.

"Well… good night then," he smiled at her and quickly began walking away.

"Wait – Kristoff."

He spun on his heel and turned immediately.

"Anna."

"Um," she'd run after him a little, taking two little steps for each of his huge strides. "Um. Thanks for – walking me to my room."

"Oh. Don't mention it."

There was a moment.

Then she lost her hands in his hair and brought his mouth to hers.

He put his arms around her waist, pulled her to him, his eyes squeezed shut with how good it was to hold her and kiss her again –

She moved her arms to his neck, and before she knew what she was doing she'd pushed him back against the wall –

There was a small, embarrassed squeak and they leapt apart, slightly breathless.

"Sorry – excuse me, my lady, my lord," a small, mousey servant with crimson cheeks hurried past them, her eyes glued firmly to the ground.

The was a pause.

"Um. So. Yeah, thanks again. For – for walking me to my room."

Kristoff couldn't meet her eye. He stared resolutely somewhere around her shoulder. "Sure. Don't mention it."

Then they glanced up; caught the other's eye; burst out laughing. For a long time, they couldn't stop.

"Oh, _geez_ ," choked Anna finally, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "God. Well, good night Kristoff."

Kristoff just about controlled his laugh to a chuckle. "Good night, Anna."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before slipping into her room. As he walked away down the corridor, there was a grin on his face and a spring in his step.


	28. Letters Home

**Notes:**

It's been far too long since I posted a chapter! Don't worry, this fic is not being abandoned: life's just been getting in the way really, and I've finally got a pretty hefty section for you. We've got fluff, character development towards Fever, an insight into life back in Arendelle and problems on the horizon.

This chapter covers quite a bit, and sets up the next bit of the story: as I know NrDg will be pleased to hear, there's trouble afoot in the form of a shady fella named Jon. Really excited to get started on that, though I'm still ironing out a few kinks in the continuity of it.

I am actually going away for three weeks tomorrow so I won't be able to post. However, I will have a lot of time for writing and I'm hoping to get the next few chapters lined up so I can spam your inboxes with updates when I'm back. The next chapter(s) will be up kind of mid-september.

Thank you, as ever, for sticking with this fic. It means a helluva lot. Can't wait to get started on the next bit!

BFM x

* * *

 _Dear Anna,_

 _I had a suspicion you would be too caught up in the excitement of Corona to remember to write. I am very glad you proved me wrong, and even more glad that you're in one piece. What was so bad about the boat?_

 _Please pass on my congratulations and love to Aunt Primrose, Uncle Thomas, cousin Rapunzel and her husband. Also pass on my sincere thanks to Kristoff and the guards for keeping you out of trouble so far. Remind me to give them a pay rise when you return._

 _I'm glad Corona is so beautiful. If you have time, draw a picture of it for me – it would be wonderful to see it. You should try running up and down that hill a few times so you're prepared for the hike up the North Mountain I have planned for when you get back._

 _What on earth is a chameleon? And no, we cannot get one. A magical snowman and a reindeer is more than enough. Speaking of which, I think I found Olaf's big brother. Do you remember the enormous snow-creature that chased you out of my ice palace? He has taken up residence there. With my tiara._

 _You are more than welcome: I am glad everything is back on track with you two. Pass on my regards to Kristoff, and apologise for the cravat. I have a feeling he won't like it._

 _Olaf is talking my ear off. I made the mistake of reading some Shakespeare to him the other day and now he tries to slip quotes into every single situation. His current favourite game is to look people straight in the eye when I am asked a question and say, 'what fools these mortals be'._

 _He was overjoyed when we got your letter, and proceeded to tell me all the reasons why he should go on the next diplomatic journey. I quote, 'Anna and I would make a great team! I could be the ice breaker! Though she be but little, she is fierce!'_

 _I hope you're having (responsible) fun – I miss you too. Come back safe._

 _Love,_

 _Elsa_

* * *

The next morning, Anna was awoken by a knock on her door.

She sat up, groggy. "Who is it?"

"It's Rapunzel. I have something to show you!"

Anna let out a huge yawn and rubbed her eyes, willing herself to wake up."Oh, hi! Um. Come in!"

The door opened and Rapunzel entered, a maid just behind her and a bundle in her arms. She saw Anna still in bed and gasped.

"Oh – I'm really sorry – I didn't mean to wake you up –"

"Oh, you didn't – I've been up for hours!" Anna smiled her best, most alert smile. "What's up?"

Rapunzel was bobbing up and down a little and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Eugene and I are really early risers. I always forget not everyone's a morning person!"

She gently sat on the edge of the bed and suddenly Anna realised that the bundle was a baby.

She was immediately truly awake and scrambled forward for a better look.

"Ohh, she's beautiful! Hello there. Hello." Anna's grin was wide and awe-struck and her eyes were huge.

The baby looked up at her with objective curiosity.

"Eva, this is Anna. Be nice."

"Hi," Anna said again. "It is very nice to meet you." She reached forward to take one of the tiny hands and was giddy with excitement when the baby yawned and grabbed one of her fingers.

She glanced up at Rapunzel, fit to burst with happiness. "She's gorgeous! I've never really seen a baby before, up close – ohhh. Hello."

Rapunzel grinned: this was exactly the reaction she'd been hoping for. "She is. You can hold her, if you like."

Anna forgot to breathe for a second. "Really? I – I don't know how to hold a baby, but – ahhh. Really?"

Her cousin laughed. "Of course! I'll teach you. It's easy once you get the hang of it. She's heavier than she looks though."

Skillfully, Rapunzel handed over the child, making sure that Anna had a good grip before letting go. "…and there you go. Easy. She loves being talked to. And being made a fuss of. I think she gets that from her dad."

Anna giggled. "How old is she now?"

"Three months. Mum and dad wanted to wait a bit before inviting people and christening her – they're a bit jumpy about babies, as you can imagine."

Anna nodded, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about.

"Eva. Hello. So, when is the christening?"

"This afternoon. The dream is, Eva will be awake. She really likes sleeping. _Really_ likes it. She has a bit of a habit of falling asleep right in the middle of things, so I think if we have lunch first, she can have a nap and will stay awake for the christening."

"I guess the water will probably help too. Nothing to keep you awake like having water chucked over your face."

Rapunzel laughed uneasily. "Well, hopefully it won't be chucked so much as gently dabbed, but I think the principle is still good."

Anna looked at the baby contentedly for a moment longer. "Ohh. Eva. I should probably give you back to your mummy so I can get up."

Gently, she passed the baby back. As Rapunzel smiled down at her child, the little chameleon – Pascal, Anna remembered – appeared from seemingly nowhere and perched himself on the blankets. He stuck his tongue out at the baby, and as Anna was left alone to dress, she heard Eva's delighted squeals and her cousin chattering at the chameleon.

Anna grinned, her thoughts all sunlight.

* * *

 _My Liege,_

 _The Arendellian delegation consists of Princess Anna herself and a consort by the name of Kristoff Bjorgman. They have with them a small contingent of guards and servants – nothing substantial._

 _Your brother has, I believe, spoken to them. I have been unable to get much from him about the contents of their dialogue, though he has spoken well of Princess Anna and – forgive me, my lord – criticised, in no uncertain terms, your conduct in Arendelle. I shall endeavour to uncover the matter of their discourse._

 _She arrived yesterday, and I hear from my friends amongst the servants and guards that she arrived disguised and on an unmarked ship. As this disguise was shed upon arrival, I can assume it was simply for the journey._

 _I await your instructions my lord._

 _Your humble servant,_

 _Jon_

* * *

After the Christening, there was another meal and a general wander-and-talk. Kristoff wondered how these lords and ladies managed to find enough to talk about.

There was also dancing, but fortunately Anna was too consumed with fussing over the baby to have noticed that yet.

Kristoff stood a little awkwardly behind Anna. There were literally no other men anywhere near Rapunzel and her baby, but there was no way he was leaving to dive into the fray of champagne and tailcoats alone.

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder.

"Kristoff. Drink?"

Kristoff looked around in alarm to see Eugene and two large glasses of beer.

He glanced at the mantelpiece clock. It was two o'clock. Did these rich types do nothing but drink?

Not wanting to appear rude, however, he took the offered glass and smiled.

"Thanks."

"So. How you finding Corona?"

Small talk. Great. He wracked his brains to remember how Anna tackled these kind of things.

Before he met Anna, the most prolonged periods time Kristoff had ever spent with people were out on the ice fields. Ice harvesters weren't exactly known for their conversation, and there was always the possibility of wandering off the see Sven if he had to spend more than a few hours in their company.

Then he'd spent almost two days straight with Anna, and that had been bearable because, you know, she was gorgeous and took care of the conversational side of things.

He was not a people person, and it was clear that Eugene expected him to significantly contribute to this conversation.

"Great, I guess."

Three words. Doing good.

"It's a beautiful city. You should see the countryside beyond it though. We've got rolling hills, secret towers, fantastically rickety water control systems… you strike me as more of an outdoor kind of guy. You'd probably like it."

Kristoff nodded. "Sounds great."

"I thought Arendelle was beautiful when me and Rapunzel came to visit, though. All those mountains! And what is it you call those big lakes you have?"

"Fjords." After a moment of pause, Kristoff realised he was probably being rude: Anna always seemed to ask people questions when she spoke to them. "So you've, uh, been to Arendelle?"

Eugene nodded. "Sure. For the coronation. Now I've done a fair bit of travelling, but never up north. Too cold."

Kristoff was sure that Eugene was making a joke. At least, he hoped he was, as he decided to have a stab at playing along. "I'd say you should see our winters, but if you were there for the coronation, you already have."

Eugene laughed, and grinned at the stoic man beside him. "You can say that again. Hey, I managed to get about ten words out of you then, didn't I?"

Kristoff flushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Nah, I'm joking. I know how weird it is being around this lot, feeling like you don't fit in." A hand was slapped on Kristoff's back as Eugene gestured with his beer glass. "Before I met Rapunzel, I thought that I would retire to castle of my own. Possibly on a warm tropical island. And there'd be no-one but me and a lot of very leggy brunettes." He shrugged. "But things sort of change, and stuff doesn't go to plan. It's all about adaption." He took a sip of beer and quickly glanced at the man beside, trying to gauge what reaction he was getting. Kristoff remained impassive, so he continued. "It's also about not being embarrassed about yourself, I think. I mean, I've always known about my superhuman good looks and rapier wit, but when me and blondie first started courting – I mean, officially courting, apparently it's not proper to just get it on with a princess in an abandoned tower – I realised that I just had to make everyone else see what she saw." He took another drink and looked at Kristoff. "You know?"

Kristoff wasn't sure if he knew. He also wasn't sure what to say.

Thankfully, Eugene saved him.

"But enough about me. What is it you do? Anna said something about ice, but being from Arendelle and having Elsa as your queen, that doesn't narrow it down too much."

It was the first time someone had asked Kristoff about ice harvesting since they'd got there – and if there was one thing Kristoff could talk about, it was ice.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon passed… interestingly.

Eugene had hauled Kristoff out to the stables to introduce him to Max – a large white horse who, Eugene explained, was almost single-handedly responsible for saving him from execution.

Kristoff found himself wondering how many of Eugene's fantastical stories were true – but then caught himself, remembering that his own life experience including Trolls doing choral numbers and enchanted snowmen with hayfever.

It transpired that Max had already met Sven, and didn't think too much of him. Max was very groomed and Sven was scruffy; Max was very aloof and Sven was essentially a big excitable dog in reindeer clothing. Max hadn't taken too well to being enthusiastically sniffed and had got his impeccable mane tangled in Sven's antlers. Just as Eugene and Kristoff had been attempting to reconcile the two with the bribery of carrots and apples, Anna had appeared, mildly frantic, and let out a string of words that Kristoff was sure a princess shouldn't know.

"Kristoff! Where did you go?! You just wandered off, and I didn't know where you were, and I came to find Sven to see if you'd gone completely AWOL or if you'd been abducted or something –"

But then she'd seen the smile on his face and Eugene in front of him and noticed that he seemed… comfortable. He looked, for the first time, genuinely relaxed in his jacket and cravat.

So she'd said hello to Max herself before they headed back into the castle for canapés drifting about on trays for dinner.

Finally, finally, it became acceptable for the guests to start disbanding. After saying their final congratulations and good-nights, Anna had turned to him thoughtfully.

"You ok?"

"Sure. You ok?"

"Yeah. I have an idea."

Kristoff raised an eyebrow. "I get the feeling I won't like this."

With the promise of being allowed to wear his normal shirt and no cravat, she convinced him to try out some impromptu parkour in the town.

"I promised Elsa I'd draw a picture of Corona for her," she insisted. "And it'll be so beautiful just before the sun sets!"

Going via her room to get a shawl and a sketchbook, they gave Gerda the slip and wandered outside the castle walls until Anna found the spot she was looking for.

"Here. I noticed these on our way up to the castle – we can get up onto the roof just there," she pointed to a low lip on the building before them. Kristoff was relieved to see it was a tiled and not thatched. "And then keep on going up to the top storey – see? Ugh, I love the buildings here. They've got so many _layers_. And the roofs are so much less steep than the ones back home."

He lifted her up a little to reach the lip easily and she scrambled up from there. He tried very hard to study the street cobbles and not look up into the many tantalising ruffles of Anna's dress.

They finally reached the top – again, Kristoff held out wary hands to steady her, but she'd hunkered on down, pencil and sketch book in hand, already glancing between the towering castle and the sweeping lines she was drawing.

"Rapunzel showed me some of her paintings today. They're ridiculously good. You know all the stuff on the walls and down in the streets? That's her."

Kristoff was surprised. "Woah. That's awesome."

"I know, right? I couldn't believe it. I'm nowhere near as good as that, but I just want to make Elsa something to give her an idea…" she trailed off, squinting and measuring a distance with her pencil. "She's never been out of Arendelle either."

They sat in comfortable quiet for a moment. It was unusual that Anna was quiet – but it was nice and there was nothing awkward about it. Kristoff loved it.

She'd taken down the day's fancy up-do and it now hung in its usual plaits, flipped back over her shoulders and out the way of the sketchbook. Her hand moved confidently, and Kristoff realised he'd never seen her drawing before. The only things that usually shut her up for this long were food or a good book.

He took advantage of the quiet to let his eyes roam over her, mind wandering.

When they'd dropped by her room to get the sketchbook, she'd ushered him in with a flap of her hand and insisted that he sit while she zoomed about finding things. She'd babbled away, and whilst she'd talked Kristoff had taken in the room.

It had been messy – dresses and shoes spread haphazardly about, all three trunks wide open, a book sprawled open on the bed, different pieces of what he assumed must be makeup clustered around the mirror. His own room was incredibly neat, everything he wasn't wearing packed back into the trunk. Even the books Elsa had lent him were stowed away when he wasn't reading them.

He noticed that the little wooden reindeer and snowman he'd whittled for her almost two months ago stood perched on her bedside table.

And now she was here, a princess sitting on the uncomfortable roof ridge with an ice harvester drawing a foreign castle as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

There were times he still wondered if he was dreaming.

"I can't believe we're going tomorrow," she said. "It's been so great here. I can't wait to get home and see Elsa and Olaf and everything, but I kind of don't want to go."

He nodded, listening but thinking. "Yeah."

"I mean, how long will it be before we see Rapunzel and Eugene again? Or my aunt and uncle? It's been so nice."

"Anna," he shifted his weight slightly so the ridge was cutting off the circulation to his other leg. "When we're back, do you want to come see my family?"

She looked up, surprised.

"I mean, you didn't exactly get off to the best start, what with them being – you know, _them_ , and having to leave so quickly," he was talking rather fast. "But it's all my mum's been talking about, when they'll get to see you again. Seriously, I've been told to bring you to dinner about a hundred times. They won't try and marry us off again or anything this time, and – "

"Kristoff," she interrupted with a smile and a hand on his arm. "I'd love to."

A huge weight was lifted from his chest and he smiled back – one of those rare, genuine smiles Anna liked so much. "Ok. That's great."

They retired into quiet once more, Anna grinning to herself as she continued the drawing.

He went back to studying her.

He'd known – well, maybe not from the moment he'd met her, but pretty soon after – that there was something different about her. She was the only _human_ person he'd ever met that he actively wanted to spend time with. She could fight off wolves with a lute, say the alphabet backwards, manage to both trip over her own feet and be quite a good dancer, sucker-punch princes so hard they flew backwards off boats…

Not many people surprised him, but she did.

There'd been something about her that had made it seem like a good idea to ride through a magical snowstorm just to kiss her; something that made him seethe with rage when he thought about Hans; something that made him prepared to wear a jacket and cravat just to make her happy.

He wasn't sure what it was. He'd never felt about anyone like he did about her, that was for sure.

Of course there had been other girls – some he'd even managed to have more than one conversation with – but no-one quite like her.

She was… strange. If that was the right word.

He wanted to tell her this, but he didn't know how.

His family had lectured him enough about love for him to know that this _wasn't_ love. That was something you were sure about. Something which left no doubt in your mind.

But there was maybe an inkling of it. Even when he'd run across the frozen fjord, it had been more like a hunch – the unshakable feeling that they felt very right together. That, and adrenaline, and that strange fairytale optimism that hung about her and made anything seem possible.

He didn't love her. But looking at her in all her dorky splendour, ungainly straddled across the ridge of the roof with lopsided pigtails and her tongue between her teeth, he knew that he _could_ love her.

He felt the tail end of love.

"Anna."

The word felt wonderful to say.

She looked up. "Hmm?"

"You look beautiful."

She pulled a silly face. "Even when I do this?"

He laughed. "Even when you do that."

* * *

 _Dear Elsa,_

 _Everything. Everything was bad about the boat. Kristoff got seriously seasick, there were so many seagulls, it smelt like fish, and all they had to eat was dried pork and bread… not ok._

 _I've drawn you a picture! It's not great, but hopefully you'll be able to kind of see what Corona's like. Incidentally, it turns out that cousin Rapunzel is like the best artist ever, by the way. She does all these murals everywhere, paintings on the rooms in the castle, paintings on the streets… it's amazing._

 _You are joking about the hike, right?_

 _What?! Marshmallow?! He's living in your ice palace?! What do you mean, with your tiara? Tell me everything! Though, actually, as we're leaving tomorrow, you might have to tell me in person. I'll send this tonight, and hopefully it'll get to you before me. I'd say we should go see him, but I don't think he and I got off to a great start._

 _You're completely right, Kristoff hates the cravat. I think he's kind of settling in though. He's getting on really well with Rapunzel's husband (Eugene). I found him introducing Sven to him this afternoon, and he seemed actually really comfortable. He kind of seems more ok with castle-y life. Which, now I think about it, might have been an ulterior motive of yours. I bet you knew Eugene used to be a thief and that people didn't approve of him… dammit Elsa._

 _Rapunzel's baby Eva is adorable. If I'm not allowed a chameleon, I might have to have a baby instead._

 _Oh my God, that sounds amazing. Olaf is definitely the most cultured snowman I have ever met. Ahh, I miss him! Say hi from me, and let him know he definitely can be my plus one on the next diplomatic mission. Make sure you read him A Winter's Tale!_

 _I miss you. See you very soon!_

 _Lots of love,_

 _Anna_


	29. Lost at Sea

**Hello!**

Firstly, sorry for being so utterly uncommunicative. Since getting back, life's been getting in the way, and I totally lost the motivation to do any writing.

That said, I'm back now and will hopefully be updating everything reguarly again. Thank you to everyone who's been prodding me about getting back on with this - it really helped me get going again! I'm excited to be back :)

 **I know it's been a while, so here's a little 'previously, in I Prefer Coffee':**

Things are wrapping up in Corona after the christening. Kristoff seems a bit more comfortable about the whole wine-ing and dine-ing side of his relationship with Anna, and has been examining his feelings about her.

Elsa and Anna have been writing to each other about the goings-on in Arendelle and Corona repectively. In particular, Elsa's met Marshmallow and has been reading Shakespeare to Olaf. Oh Elsa.

A brother of Hans's has been at the christening, seeming suitably charming.

There's been a letter from a fella named Jon to a 'My Leige' about the Arendellian delegation in Corona - most importantly, who it consists of and how they arrived disguised.

Hope you enjoy the chapter! I'll warn you now, it's a bit silly.

* * *

Breakfast the next morning was an unsurprisingly huge affair: Corona didn't seem to do things by halves. Many of the guests were leaving that day, and this was the last formal meal. The queen made a speech, blessings were given, and Anna found herself sitting opposite Prince Johannes. Kristoff wasn't there – he was with Ralf and Henrik, organising the best way to get Anna back to Arendelle in one piece.

"Are you looking forward to being home, my lady?"

She swallowed a mouthful of tea and nodded. "I can't wait to see my sister again. It's been so nice being here and I wish we could stay longer, but Elsa was pretty stern about timing. What about you?"

Johannes considered. "Certainly, it has been a pleasure to represent the Southern Isles. I first met the princess a few years ago, after she returned, but it has been wonderful to see how well she is doing. I can't imagine it was easy."

Again, Anna found herself slightly puzzled. Not wanting to appear ignorant, she made a mental note to ask Gerda about all this 'returning' stuff, and nodded.

"I can't wait to see my sister, so I can imagine you must be looking forward to seeing your brothers! Are they all at home?"

Johannes shook his head and readjusted his knife and fork into a perfectly central position on his plate. "Many of my eldest brothers live abroad – diplomatic marriages and such – though there are currently… seven of us still in the Southern Isles?"

Anna's mouth dropped open. "That must be amazing! I mean, one Elsa is great, but if I had, seven sisters – or brothers – around, that'd be… woah."

Johannes cracked a smile: he found this young princess's enthusiasm quite charming, though he admired her consort for his patience. "It is certainly never dull."

"What are they all like? Hans never – well, I never heard much about your family, really. I don't really have much family – at least that we see – so it's kind of fascinating to me."

"Well," Johannes hesitated for a second, thinking. "My father is a very… strong-willed man. My current step-mother, Queen Agnes, is his fourth wife." Again, Johannes paused, considering. "Forgive me – there are quite a few of us. Queen Katja, his first wife, is mother to my eldest brothers Matthias junior, Niklas and Anders. They are all married, though Matthias still lives at home. Niklas lives in Poland with a Polish princess and Anders in Italy – he married a Florentine." Johannes paused to take a drink. He seemed to be counting in his head. Anna fought the impulse to plonk both her elbows on the table and get settled in for a good story.

"Then there was my mother, Lis. My eldest full brother is Magnus. He is married to the Swedish princess and lives in Sweden. Then there is myself and my twin Jonas – he is travelling. Claus and Lorens are a year younger than Jonas and me, and also twins. They still live in the Southern Isles. My mother died giving birth to them."

"I'm so sorry," Anna frowned, her face transparent regret. "That must be awful. When I was fifteen, my parents – well, I know how you feel."

Johannes shook his head gently and smiled. "That's quite all right, Princess Anna. I was only three at the time – and it is the way of life. Now, my father then remarried a young woman named Elisabet and they had four children – Lukas, Rasmus, Linus and Marcus. Rasmus left home a while ago, and none of us are sure where he is. Marcus is studying at Wittenberg university, though Lukas and Linus still live at home. Lukas is soon to be married – Linus has every month a new liason." At this point, Johannes frowned. "Then, there is Hans. My father divorced Elisabet for Hans' mother – Iris. She died soon after his birth of a sickness that swept the Southern Isles. Luckily the rest of my family was spared, but my father was inconsolable. I was ten at the time, and my father did not remarry until I was seventeen. He met my stepmother – the current Queen Agnes – a few months before Matthias got married. She cared for him and could make him smile in a way no-one had since Hans' mother. They have been together for… sixteen years now?" Johannes shook his head almost in disbelief. "She has been like a mother to us all. A wonderful woman, Agnes."

Anna was gaping again. "That's… amazing. Wow. I mean, I know that you have so much family, but –you have so much family!"

A laugh. He poured her another cup of tea. "That I do. I tell you, family gatherings can get confusing. I must have about ten nieces and nephews? And counting."

"So…" Anna backtracked in her head. "You're the oldest at home?"

"Except for Matthias junior, yes. He is heir and must therefore live in the kingdom."

Anna's mind boggled a little trying to imagine a family so large. It had always been so lonely at home – what she would have given for twelve other siblings, and all the chaos that must come with it.

She remembered, suddenly, how many Trolls there had been in the Valley of the Living Rock.

After breakfast, Anna said her goodbyes to her aunt, uncle and cousin (embracing them all in turn, she exclaimed, "You must write! And come to see me in Arendelle!") and Johannes walked her to her room.

"Well, my lady. It has been a pleasure." He swept into a bow and kissed her hand. "I will commend you and all your charms to my father, and pray that the matter with Hans is resolved soon. It will not do for our kingdoms to be at odds."

Anna laughed uncomfortably and uncertainly. "Well, thanks. That's really – I'll commend you to my sister as well. Assure her that not all princes of the Southern Isles are – well, you know."

Johannes smiled, gestured to his manservant Jon, and left.

* * *

It was late. The sea shifted and sighed against the sides of the boat and under a blanket of a thousand stars, Anna wandered across the deck.

Swathed once more in Sami attire, their motley procession had returned to the docks laden with ginger beer and copious amounts of non-salted-non-stale provisions. Kristoff and the guards had managed to find a suitable vessel bound for Arendelle, bartered passage and now felt more able to relax, the most crucial part of the journey underway.

The sea breeze was cool and crisp and Anna leant against the balustrade for a moment to enjoy it. She couldn't keep her eyes off the stars, or stop tracing the bizarre constellations Kristoff had pointed out to her months ago. She tried to remember the details.

She was excited to meet the Trolls again when they returned. Occasionally, Kristoff would make some reference or comment to things she felt she knew – Old Norse tales and legends and words half-remembered from childhood stories – and she knew that they must be from the Trolls. Everything he seemed to know – apart from everything about ice – came from them. She wanted to hear their stories and see their magic and join them in their teasing of him.

In fact, she wanted to hear about them now.

Trotting across the deck, Anna made her way up the stairs and towards their quarters: he wouldn't be asleep yet.

The door was slightly ajar, but she knocked anyway: habit. "Kristoff? It's me."

There was the sound of scrambling within.

"Anna! Um. Hang on."

Curious, she pushed the door fully open.

He was in his normal shirt and trousers, with sock-clad feet, halfway across the small room with a book in his hand. There was something of the air of a startled animal about him.

"Woah! What part of 'hang on' don't you understand?"

Anna ignored this and peered at the book. "Hello to you too. What're you reading?"

Kristoff hastily and instinctively hid the book behind his back. "Oh, nothing. Just stuff. How're you?"

Anna's curiosity was piqued.

"I'm good," she pattered over to him. "Just been looking at the stars on the deck. I was trying to remember all those Troll constellations you told me. So what's the book, huh?"

Kristoff cleared his throat and shifted slightly.

He really liked the garish Sami dress she was wearing.

"I told you, they're not Troll constellations, they're Old Norse. Which ones did you see?"

She considered, momentarily distracted. "I think I saw the Eagle, but I'm not sure. It might have been… Durthor? Is that one of them?"

"Durathror," he corrected her. "Could be either, you can see both this time of year."

Anna nodded, opened her mouth to reply, but then narrowed her eyes. "You are _verrry_ eager to change the subject. What book is it?"

"It's nothing, really, just – ice stuff – "

With surprising speed, Anna's hand shot round his side and snatched the book. She danced out of reach, into the room, and examined the cover.

"The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, a tale in two volumes, volume – hang on," she frowned at the cover, and flicked to the title page. Sure enough, painstakingly neat lettering in the top right-hand corner proclaimed it the property of Elsa, Princess of Arendelle. "This is my sister's?"

Kristoff looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"It – yeah. She leant it to me."

Anna's face split into a grin. "That's awesome! I had no idea you two were getting along so well – talking about books and lending things – Elsa won't even lend her books to me, I have to get a different copy from the library – she says I'm too careless – this is so great!"

He smiled awkwardly.

"So, do you like it? I've never read it – but I know it's one of Elsa's favourites – how come she leant it to you? I had no idea you were into books at all!"

He hesitated.

"Well, I'm not – into books, exactly, it's more – "

That second, there was a sudden, harsh cry from outside. After a moment of silence, it was followed by an explosion of shouts.

Kristoff spun around. They both froze for a moment.

"What – "

"Don't move. Just – stay there a second." Warily, Kristoff approached the door. It was dark, and he couldn't see anything immediately outside. He cautiously stepped over the threshold.

 _Thump._

He heard Anna cry out, and everything went black.

* * *

Elsa smiled as she finished reading Anna's letter and glanced up to Olaf, who had been listening intently.

"What's A Winter's Tale?"

"It's another play, like the one we read the other day – you know, like A Midsummer Night's Dream?"

Olaf's expression brightened even further. "Oh oh! I _liked_ that one. Can we read it tonight?"

"Maybe not tonight," she replied, yawning. "I've got an early start tomorrow. I need to get everything ready for Anna's arrival. It's got to be perfect."

Olaf's face fell slightly, but he nodded. "Ok. Can I help with anything?"

Elsa considered. "Well, there's the reports on the Children's Home, but that's all ready. I've spoken to the staff about dinner, and I've done the ice sculpture. I've made sure Kai's organised announcements about the ice rink from the town crier. I'm just waiting for the shipment of fireworks from France now. Ambassador Perrault recommended them to me." She was ticking off things on her fingers. "I think that's everything."

Olaf's toothless grin was enormous. His personal flurry trembled with excitement. "I don't know what fireworks are, but they sound _amazing,_ and _fiery…_ "

Elsa smiled again.

* * *

When the fog of unconsciousness finally cleared, it took Kristoff a moment to take in his surroundings. All he knew was it was dark, there was something digging uncomfortably into his back and someone was shouting.

"Don't you walk away from me! Especially when I'm shouting at you! Hey! HEY!"

Kristoff sat forward groggily.

"I don't know _what_ you think you're playing at, but I swear, when I get out of here, I'm going to – "

He twisted around and saw that the thing digging into his back was a small metal dish, encrusted with an unpleasant-looking substance. He could hear footsteps pacing beside him. Details of his whereabouts were slowly coming in to focus: dark, slightly damp, the smell of brine, bars blocking his exit –

 _Bars?_

The shouting voice let out a particularly colourful threat and another voice, this one far more scandalised, cried, _"Anna!"_

"You heard me! Don't think that I won't, you filthy son-of-a – Kristoff!"

At the sound of his name, Kristoff looked dazedly in the direction of the voice. "Anna? Is that you?"

"Kristoff! I'm so glad you're awake – I was getting really worried – are you ok?"

Blinking, he saw her anxious face peering through more bars to his left. "What's – happening?"

"You got knocked out. The ship was attacked. Actual real-life pirates, with a jolly roger and everything – they totally ransacked the ship, and they've taken us prisoner, and I don't know why, I mean, I don't know what they want with a _poor Sami family from the north of Lom,"_ – this was shouted over her shoulder – "I think they found how much money we had with us, or something, but – oh my God," she gasped, gaping at the side of his face. "They hit you so hard! Are you ok? You've got a huge bruise coming – "

Kristoff gingerly touched his face. It was hot and sore. He winced a little.

"Ow."

"This is all my fault, I'm so sorry – "

"Where are the others?"

"The sailors were left on the ship," she bit her lip. "I don't know what happened to them. Ralf's there with you – " Kristoff glanced round, remembering the footsteps, and saw a grim-faced Ralf pacing up and down. "Gerda's here with me and Oskar and Henrik are in the cell next to us. They just took us by surprise – it took about five of them to take down Henrik, but we just weren't expecting it – by the time they knocked you out they'd just got Oskar outside, and then they grabbed me – "

"Where's Sven?"

There was a pause.

"I – I don't know."

Kristoff felt a hideous lurch in the region of his chest. He tried to stand, but couldn't.

After a moment, the silence was broken.

"I am so sorry," came the low, tremulous voice of Oskar. "Your sister entrusted us with your safety and we have failed." There was a thump, and Kristoff guessed one of the guards had just kicked something. "How could we let this happen?"

"Don't be silly," With a last, ruefully guilty glance at Kristoff, Anna disappeared from the bars beside him and made her way to the other side of her cell. "There was no way to know this would happen. It would have been way too suspicious if we'd had a guard over me day and night, and I don't know what good that would have been against a whole bunch of cutlass-wielding – I didn't even think piracy was still a thing. Maybe like thirty years ago, but – " She hesitated, glancing out of the cell to check there was no-one in hearing-range. "Anyway, they _don't_ know who I am. So you haven' t failed. We're going to get out of this. We'll come up with a plan. And there's no way Elsa's going to sit back and relax if we're so much as an _hour_ late, and if it's money they want, they'll take what we've got, and – you know. It'll be ok."

Anna, ever the optimist, seemed to truly believe what she was saying.

"And after that," she added, thoughtfully, "I'm going to get Elsa to give every single one of them really severe frostbite."

Oskar shook his head very slightly. His shame and anger was palpable.

* * *

Hans had decided that one of the best ways to keep his father on-side was to be as helpful as possible. There was no way he could convince his diabolic step-mother to let him leave the castle, but there was a small chance that if he proved himself helpful enough, his father would overrule her. As Hans constantly had the urge to remind her, _his father_ was king, not _her_.

It was degrading, of course, to act as a voluntary _assistant_ , but it was a necessary evil.

"Father?"

"Hans?"

"I have just been sorting your letters. There is one from our dock master which I can't help but feel – take a look."

Using words such as _we_ and _our_ worked well too, Hans was finding.

Matthais smiled at his son genially and took the offered paper. Hans had broken the hastily-applied seal and the writing inside was scribbled with an urgency.

 _Your Majesty –_

 _We have received reports of pirates off the western coast. A merchant ship bound for Arendelle docked in a dire state last night, and explained that they had been attacked and boarded. I am inclined to believe their story – there was a wild look in the captain's eyes. They say too that some passengers were taken prisoner._

 _The threat of pirates has been long absent from our seas, Your Majesty, and I urge you to pursue this matter._

 _Your faithful servant,_

 _Dock Master Bernhard_

Matthias looked up, concern upon his brow. "Pirates. Good God. I haven't heard the like for thirty years or more. The matter must be looked into."

Hans nodded fervently. "Absolutely. What can I do to help?"

There was something which Hans dared believe was impressed in his father's eye. "Well – Hans, that is generous of you. I need a small navy vessel sent to scout the western coast, but I know your mother – "

"Father," Hans put a white-gloved hand over the king's. "I beseech you. My heart goes out to those taken prisoner. I want to – I must – help."

Matthias's expression softened further. "Sometimes, Hans, I think – " he hesitated; sighed.

"Father?"

"Of course you may help, Hans. I shall speak to your mother. Go."

Hans leapt to his feet, brimming with joy. He straightened his jacket and made for the door.

"Thank you, father. I won't let you down."

As the door closed, Matthias worried his hands.

As the door closed, a grin spread over Hans's face.


	30. Your Face, This Place

**Elsa takes matters into her own hands, and the plot thickens off the coast of the Southern Isles. Enjoy! X**

* * *

"Kai," Elsa looked up at the knock on the open door. "Thank you for coming so promptly. I need your help."

Kai inclined his head. "Of course, your majesty. What can I do for you?"

Sighing, Elsa sat back in her chair. Kai noticed she was wearing one of those icy dresses, the kind that Elsa seemed very comfortable in but Gerda always tutted about when she thought no-one was listening.

"As you know, Anna should be back tomorrow. Everything is ready for her arrival, but there's just one more thing I want to have largely sorted before she returns." She picked up an envelope from the table before her and held it out. Kai took it. "This is a letter to the King and Queen of the Southern Isles. I need to see them in order to sort out this mess with Prince Hans. I hardly think they'll dare to refuse, so I want to be ready to leave at a moment's notice, as soon as I receive a reply. I need you to organise passage for me. A big ship, intimidating, lots of Arendelle flags. I need them to know I've arrived."

Kai nodded solemnly. "Of course, your majesty. Besides the ship's crew, who will you require to accompany you?"

At this, Elsa hesitated. She thought for a moment, frowning. "No-one. I will take a maid, but I will require no guard."

"Your majesty – "

"No guard, Kai. Not only am I infinitely capable of protecting myself, I do not want to give off a hostile impression."

Very reluctantly, Kai agreed. He had no doubt his Queen could defend herself, but –

She'd always been his favourite, out of the two sisters. He was one of the very, very few people who had known about her powers – who remembered when they had been freely used as a child – and even after she became cold and isolated, he'd admired her courage and her stoicism. She'd grown to be the most incredible ruler, independent and capable and fiercely intelligent, but beneath that, he couldn't help but see the frightened child, still.

He did not want to send her off alone.

" – as you wish, your majesty.

* * *

There was very little light, but Gerda was guessing, by the amount of times they'd been given food and by how many times she'd dropped off to sleep that they'd been in the cells for about a day and a half.

And she could hear, if she concentrated and blocked out Anna's grumbling and Ralf's pacing, a change.

No longer were the only sounds the creaking ship, the slap of the sea and the cawing of seabirds. She could hear – unless she was very much mistaken – something new in the voices and footfalls of their captors.

Leant up against the side-bars of the cell, she turned her head and murmured to the prone form beside her.

"Henrik," her voice was much more of a croak than she remembered. "I think something is happening."

Henrik's chin had been resting on his chest, but at this he looked up, immediately alert. "How can you tell?"

"The pirates. They're running up and down the deck. They are all shouting at once."

Henrik sat stock-still, listening. Slowly, he nodded.

"I think you're right."

He stood unsteadily and turned to the one member of their party with any significant sea-faring knowledge.

"Oskar. Ships. Do you hear what's happening?"

Oskar too looked up, and shook his head with furrowed brows. "No. What is…?"

"Listen."

He did.

As the minutes passed, the sounds from above intensified – so much so that Ralf (in the cell on the other side of Gerda) frowned and looked up – and even Anna (who had been completely consumed with examining Kristoff's bruised face) noticed that all their companions were stood.

"What…?"

"Listen. Something's happening."

She almost whacked her own head on the bars in her hurry to scramble up.

"What? How can you tell? Is it land? Is it Arendelle? Have we been at sea that long? I mean – "

Kristoff shushed her.

Suddenly, there were several heavy thumps on the deck above, as if things were slamming into the ship. They strained their ears for words or phrases, but every sound was muffled and they could make nothing definite out.

Just when Anna thought she might explode with the tension, the door to the brig slammed open and heavy footsteps hammered down the stairs.

"Where are they? Show us where you have these prisoners and no harm will come to you."

There was something familiar about that voice.

"Oh-arr, just down here, m'lord, arrr, we meant nothing by it m'lord, just that they seemed to have a fair bit o' treasure on 'em, and – "

"Enough. Any attack on ships, civilian, merchant or military even close to the Southern Isles is an affront to his majesty King Matthias. It will not be tolerated. Now – "

Three men reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to face the cells.

There was a bulky man wearing naval uniform, an eye-patched pirate with a sword to his throat, and holding the sword –

Anna almost passed out.

"…Anna?"

"Hans!"

Hans – in full military garb – pushed the pirate towards his naval officer and ran to the cell bars. He gripped them in his white-gloved hands.

"Anna! Anna, my God, how did you – why – Anna!"

"Hans!" She had never, ever thought she would ever be happy to see him again. But after nearly two days in a cell, he almost wore the face of a saviour. "We were on our way to Arendelle, and our ship was attacked – we were taken prisoner – why are you – you have to get us out!"

She too was pressed against the bars, and he put a hand over hers before turning to face the pirate once more.

"Get this open," he demanded. "Right this second."

The pirate stumbled forward, released by the enormous naval officer, and fumbled with a set of keys.

"These ones too," Anna cried, pulling her hand away from him and waving frantically at the cells containing Ralf, Henrik, Oskar and Kristoff. "They're with me, they're my friends, my guards and my plus one – "

Almost as she said this, Anna turned to face Kristoff, eyes wide.

He was looking at Hans with an expression of pure dislike.

"What the hell is going on?"

Hans turned to him, his eyes only leaving Anna at the last moment.

"A merchant ship docked in the Southern Isles. Its captain told us they had been attacked by pirates and that some passengers had been taken prisoner. Naturally, my father, King Matthias, sent out a scout to find these pirates and recover those taken prisoner. I was given the honour of leading the operation."

The cell doors open, Hans moved straight in to put his arm around Anna. She flinched.

Hans pointed his sword at the pirate again. "Go. I need to get these people onto my ship, with some food and warmth."

The ragged pirate, eyeing the sharp point of Hans' blade, scuttled back up the stairs.

They emerged through a small hatch onto the deck. Anna, Kristoff, Gerda, Henrik Ralf and Oskar blinked in the sudden and aggressive daylight, their eyes taking a moment to adjust.

Hans' voice cut through.

"The prisoners are alive and well. We must get them to shore as soon as possible. Albert, Erik, Jon – I leave you in charge of this ship. Take some men and have it brought to shore so we may justly deal with these criminals." He looked down to Anna, his face all concern. "Come on, Anna. Let's get you and your companions to shore."

Ignoring her protestations, Hans swept her up into his arms and motioned for a gangplank to link the ships together.

* * *

Elsa paced back and forth in front of the gates, eyes locked on the town and the Great Road for any sign of two sleds and six people.

She had expected them to be back by early afternoon.

One o'clock came and went. Two o'clock. Three.

By five o'clock, Elsa had started to lose it. She sent guards out to the edge of the town and along the road to Haukeli.

Olaf, for once, seemed to realise that honesty was probably not the best policy and kept his own worried thoughts to himself, watching her pace back and forth with wide, anxious eyes.

When the guards all returned empty-handed, Elsa said nothing for a long moment.

Finally, she rose.

"I will be needing a horse, Kai," she said, quietly. "Please could you have the stable master informed. I am going to search for Anna. I leave the privy council to rule in my stead until I return. I will leave now, but please see to it that every guard that can be spared is reassigned to the search also. I will ride to Kristensand via Haukeli to see if Anna made it back to our shores. I wish for the guards to also be dispatched along that route, but fanning out either side for five-miles."

Kai nodded wordlessly. He longed to reach out a hand, place it on Elsa cold shoulder – but neither decorum nor his Queen's personal boundaries would let him.

* * *

Elsa tore down the streets, cobbles and grass and distance lost under her horse's thundering hooves.

There had been no reports of storms; no weather that a merchant ship would find adverse. They had been delayed, that was all. Perhaps there had been no ships leaving before the evening, or perhaps they hadn't been able to get direct passage – maybe Anna had wanted to slow the sleds to take in the scenery, or maybe she'd wanted a lie in wherever they had stopped. Maybe.

But –

If – _if_ – something had happened, Elsa would never forgive herself.

But that was an if, she reminded herself, pushing down the cold spikes of hysteria that left a slight trail of frost in the wake of horse and rider.

* * *

Hans finally let Anna stand on her own two feet once they had made it to the rather plushy captain's cabin at the stern of the ship. The others followed, disregarding any need for an invitation to follow.

Hans steered Anna to a red-cushioned chair before hurrying to fetch some water from a cabinet at the side of the room.

The captain's cabin was large: right at the back of the ship, the rear wall was windowed, providing a wide view of the ocean behind them. Paintings hung on the wall. There was a bed which Kristoff suspected had a feather mattress and a trunk beside it. A large table dominated the centre of the room, and upon it were two candlesticks (unlit), a pot of ink, a pen, and a map of the southern isles spread upon it. It was at this Anna was now sat.

Hans placed a jug of water on the table and several glasses. He poured one for Anna and handed it to her – but not before Henrik put a cautioning hand on her arm.

"Do not drink, my lady."

Hans looked the guard square in the eye and took a drink from the glass himself. He passed it to Anna.

"Are you all right?"

She looked at him with fearful eyes.

"Yes, we're fine, thank you." There was a pause. "I don't… understand what's going on."

"Well," Hans began gently. "As I said earlier, we received a report of a merchant ship that had been attacked close to our waters – "

"No, no, I know that – I mean, why are you… what…"

She trailed off and Kristoff stepped forward. He put a hand on her shoulder and without thinking, she grabbed it. This gesture was not missed by Hans.

"You all looked exhausted," he said, rising. "We should be docking in no more than an hour, but let me see to it that some food is brought for you. Please, make yourself comfortable. I must explain the situation to my crew – but I will be back shortly." With a smile to Anna, he left.

As the door closed behind him, there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief. Anna rested her forehead on the table.

"Well. That was unexpected."


End file.
